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4 


THE  PRACTICE  OF 
JOURNALISM 

A  Treatise  on  Newsftafte  r — M  a  k  i  n  % 


By 

Walter  Williams 

PROFESSOR  OF  THE  HISTORY  AND  PRINCIPLES 
OF  JOURNALISM  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  JOURNALISM  OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MISSOURI 

and 


Frank  L.  Martin 

PROFESSOR  OF  THE  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF 
JOURNALISM  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  JOURNALISM 
OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MISSOURI 


LUCAS  BROTHERS 
PUBLISHERS 
1924 

Columbia,  Missouri 


Copyright,  1922,  1924, 
Lucas  Brothers 


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THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


5 


I 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 

The  Journalist's  Creed. 

PART  II. 

The  Profession. 

I.  Journalism  as  a  Profession. 

II.  The  Newspaper — City,  Country,  Special. 

III.  The  Division  of  Labor. 

IV.  The  Sunday  Paper. 

V.  The  Business  Department. 

VI.  The  Printing  Department. 

PART  III. 

Editorial. 

I.  Editorial  Direction. 

II.  Editorial  Style. 

III.  The  Writing  of  Editorials. 

PART  IV. 
News-Gathering. 

I.  Reporting. 

II.  The  Beginning. 

III.  Sources  of  News. 

IV.  Assignments. 


7 


8 


CONTENTS 


V.  The  Reporter. 

VI.  Interviewing. 

VII.  News  and  Its  Value. 

VIII.  Office  Organization  in  News-Gathering. 

PART  V. 

News  Writing. 

I.  Writing  for  Newspapers. 

II.  Writing  the  Story. 

III.  What  to  Avoid 

IV.  Use  of  Words. 


PART  VI. 

A  Style  Book. 

General  Instructions. 

Preparation  of  Copy. 

Wording  the  Story. 

Capitalization. 

Abbreviation. 

Figures. 

Titles. 

Quotation. 

Compounds. 

Spelling. 

Punctuation. 

Special  Forms. 

Photo-Engraving. 

The  Point  System. 

Headlines. 

Instructions  for  Writing  Headlines. 
Marks  Used  in  Proof  Reading. 


. 


PART  I. 


THE  JOURNALIST’S  CREED. 


9 


r 


THE  JOURNALIST’S  CREED. 

I  believe  in  the  profession  of  journalism. 

I  believe  that  the  public  journal  is  a  public  trust;  that 
all  connected  with  it  are,  to  the  full  measure  of  their  re¬ 
sponsibility,  trustees  for  the  public ;  that  acceptance  of  les¬ 
ser  service  than  the  public  service  is  betrayal  of  this  trust. 

I  believe  that  clear  thinking  and  clear  statement,  ac¬ 
curacy  and  fairness,  are  fundamental  to  good  journalism. 

I  believe  that  a  journalist  should  write  only  what  he 
holds  in  his  heart  to  be  true. 

I  believe  that  suppression  of  the  news,  for  any  consider¬ 
ation  other  than  the  welfare  of  society,  is  indefensible. 

I  believe  that  no  one  should  write  as  a  journalist  zvhat 
he  would  not  say  as  a  gentleman ;  that  bribery  by  one's  own 
pocketbook  is  as  much  to  be  avoided  as  bribery  by  the 
pocketbook  of  another;  that  individual  responsibility  may 
not  be  escaped  by  pleading  another's  instructions  or  another's 
dividends. 

I  believe  that  advertising,  news  and  editorial  columns 
should  alike  serve  the  best  interests  of  readers;  that  a  single 
standard  of  helpful  truth  and  cleanness  should  prevail  for  all; 
that  the  supreme  test  of  good  journalism  is  the  measure  of 
its  public  service. 

I  believe  that  the  journalism  which  succeeds  best — and 
best  deserves  success — fears  God  and  honors  man;  is  stoutly 
independent,  unmoved  by  pride  of  opinion  or  greed  of 
poiuer,  constructive,  tolerant  but  never  careless,  self-con¬ 
trolled,  patient,  always  respectful  of  its  readers  but  always 
unafraid;  is  quickly  indignant  at  injustice;  is  unswayed  by 
the  appeal  of  privilege  or  the  clamor  of  the  mob;  seeks  to 

11 


12 


THE  JOURNALIST’S  CREED 


give  every  man  a  chance  and,  as  far  as  law  and  honest  wage 
and  recognition  of  human  brotherhood  can  make  it  so,  an 
equal  chance;  is  profoundly  patriotic  while  sincerely  pro¬ 
moting  international  good  will  and  cementing  world-com¬ 
radeship;  is  a  journalism  of  humanity,  of  and  for  today’s 
world. 


Walter  Williams. 


PART  II.  THE  PROFESSION. 


I.  Journalism  as  a  Profession. 

II.  The  Newspaper — City,  Country,  Special. 

III.  The  Division  of  Labor. 

IV.  The  Sunday  Paper. 

V.  The  Business  Department. 

VI.  The  Printing  Department. 


I.  JOURNALISM  AS  A  PROFESSION. 


Journalism  is  the  conducting,  directing,  managing,  writ¬ 
ing,  for  a  journal,  newspaper,  magazine,  or  other  periodical 
publication.  Persons  thus  engaged  are  journalists. 

Printing  is  necessary  to  the  publishing  of  a  journal,  but 
printing  is  not  journalism.  Printing  merely  affords  me¬ 
dium  for  journalistic  expression.  Expression  not  medium 
constitutes  journalism.  Printing  is  a  trade  or,  in  its  highest 
form,  an  art. 

The  production  of  newspapers  and  periodicals  involves 
purchase  of  news-reports,  employment  of  labor,  sale  of  ad¬ 
vertising  space,  sale  and  distribution  of  published  copies. 
This  production  of  the  newspaper  or  periodical  is  publish¬ 
ing.  Publishing  is  a  business. 

Journalism  is  in  essence  different  from  printing  and  pub¬ 
lishing.  It  is  the  gathering  and  presentation  of  news  and 
of  comment  upon  the  news,  of  discussion  of  all  that  interests, 
entertains,  informs,  or  instructs.  It  affords  the  pictured 
record  and  interpretation  of  human  life  in  every  aspect. 
The  journalist  is  recorder,  advocate,  buyer  and  seller  of 
news,  judge,  tribune,  teacher,  interpreter.  When  he  only 
buys  and  sells  news,  he  is  in  business.  When  he  merely 
records,  he  is  clerk  and  bookkeeper  for  the  day’s  doings. 
When  he  interprets,  whether  as  contributor,  writer,  editor, 
journalism  is  near  of  kin  to  literature,  if  it  is  not  literature. 
In  its  highest  sense  journalism  is  not  trade  nor  business,  but 
profession,  the  profession  of  the  interpreter. 

The  term  journalist  was  once  held  in  disrepute  by  many 
members  of  the  profession.  By  preference  the  term  news¬ 
paper  man  was  used  for  description.  A  journalist  was 
said  to  be  all  pretense  and  a  newspaper  man  all  practice. 

15 


16 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


This  ancient  prejudice  against  the  term  journalist  doubtless 
was  caused  by  the  existence  of  numerous  hangers-on, 
camp-followers,  parasites.  Men  who  wrote  an  occasional 
article  for  a  newspaper  or  had  a  slight  connection  with 
some  journal  posed  as  journalists  to  the  disgust  of  the 
men  who  actually  made  journalism  their  life  work.  More 
recently,  however,  this  prejudice  is  disappearing.  No  other 
word  so  accurately  serves  for  definition.  Journalism  has 
become  a  profession  in  which  special  aptitude,  equipment, 
experience  and  training  are  increasingly  necessary.  The 
result  of  changed  conditions,  brought  about  by  the  marvel¬ 
ous  growth  of  the  press,  has  been  to  create  a  body  of 
journalists  forming  a  distinct  profession. 

The  profession  of  journalism  has  for  its  members  men 
— and  women — who  do  widely  different  work.  It  includes 
reporters,  editors,  illustrators,  special  writers,  directors, 
managers.  It  includes  workers  on  country  newspapers  and 
on  city  newspapers,  on  dailies,  weeklies,  monthlies,  quarter¬ 
lies.  While  their  duties  are  widely  different  in  many  ways, 
they  have  the  common  purpose  of  journalism,  to  record  for 
the  public  and  to  interpret  to  the  public  that  which  is  of 
public  value  and  interest. 

The  fascination  of  journalism  is,  in  part,  at  least,  in  its 
appeal  to  man’s  desire  for  power,  mastery,  service.  The 
journalist  is  creator,  not  merely  carpenter  and  joiner.  The 
highest  journalism  does  not  give  a  photograph  but  a  por¬ 
trait  of  life.  While  on  the  business  side  the  making  of  a 
newspaper  is  a  commercial  enterprise,  as  much  so  as  the 
management  of  a  department  store,  yet  few  men  enter 
journalism  only  or  chieflv  for  business  or  commercial  rea¬ 
sons.  The  man  who  enters  journalism  merely  to  make 
money  does  not  achieve  the  highest  professional  success. 
Gen.  H.  V.  Boynton,  long  a  Washington  correspondent, 


JOURNALISM  AS  A  PROFESSION 


17 


said :  “Men  write  for  money,  for  fame  and  for  dear  life 
— journalists  for  all  three.”  The  call  of  journalism  is  a 
call  of  joyful,  fascinating  service.  Called  a  grind  by  many 
of  its  followers,  involving  hard,  continuous,  nerve-racking, 
brain-exhausting,  body-fatiguing  labor,  no  journalist  ever 
willingly  quits  journalism  for  another  vocation.  It  is  a 
tradition  of  the  calling  that  the  man  who  gets  printer’s 
ink  on  his  fingers — who  goes  seriously  into  journalism 
— never  entirely  gets  it  off. 

Personality  trained,  equipped,  experienced,  is  dominant 
in  journalism.  That  journalism  has  become  impersonal 
is  frequently  said  in  way  of  belittling  comment.  Journal¬ 
ism  is  less  personal  in  the  sense  that  it  has  become  co¬ 
operative  rather  than  individual.  The  successful  practice 
of  journalism,  however,  demands  now  more  than  ever  be¬ 
fore  trained  personality  and  to  such  brings  its  highest  re¬ 
ward.  Journalism,  the  journalism  that  is  worth  while, 
is  personal  journalism.  “Whenever  in  the  newspaper  pro¬ 
fession,”  wrote  Charles  A.  Dana,  in  the  New  York  Sun, 
“a  man  rises  up  who  is  original,  strong  and  bold  enough 
to  make  his  opinions  a  matter  of  consequence  to  the  public, 
there  will  be  personal  journalism;  and  whenever  news¬ 
papers  are  conducted  only  by  commonplace  individuals, 
whose  views  are  of  no  consequence  to  anybody,  there  will 
be  nothing  but  impersonal  journalism.”  Personal  journal¬ 
ism  has  not  been  succeeded  by  impersonal  journalism. 
The  journalist  was  never  more  powerful  nor  did  person¬ 
ality  ever  count  for  so  much  in  the  profession  of  journal¬ 
ism  as  now. 

“Great  is  journalism,”  wrote  Thomas  Carlyle,  “for  is 
not  every  editor  a  ruler  of  the  world,  being  a  persuader  of 
it?” 

This  is  the  Profession  of  Journalism. 

2 


II.  THE  NEWSPAPER— CITY,  COUNTY,  SPECIAL. 


The  American  newspaper  has  all  fields  for  its  own.  It 
finds  its  home  in  the  smallest  villages  as  well  as  in  the 
largest  cities.  Where  all  other  business  enterprises  have 
been  affected  by  the  spirit  of  consolidation,  there  are  each 
year  more  newspapers  in  more  different  towns.  There 
never  has  been  and  is  not  now  a  newspaper  trust.  While 
the  publication  of  newspapers  and  periodicals  grows  larger 
in  the  centers  of  population,  there  has  been  no  decrease 
but  rather  a  considerable  increase  in  the  newspapers  and 
periodicals  in  the  smaller  communities.  Scarcely  a  county 
in  any  state  of  the  United  States,  however  sparsely  settled, 
has  not  a  local  county  newspaper.  There  is  scarcely  a 
town  of  a  thousand  inhabitants  without  a  weekly  journal. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  West  and  Southwest.  In 
the  North  and  East  transportation  facilities  are  such  as 
to  permit  local  newspapers  to  serve  two  or  more  com¬ 
munities. 

The  first  general  division  of  the  press  may  be  into  the 
city,  the  country  newspapers,  and  special  or  class  journals. 
This  excludes  from  consideration  the  periodicals,  class  pub¬ 
lications,  monthlies  and  national  weeklies.  The  line  of 
division  is  not  easily  drawn.  It  is  difficult  to  define  that 
which  is  a  city  in  America  and  that  which  is  a  country 
town.  The  city  newspaper  is,  of  course,  a  newspaper  pub¬ 
lished  in  a  city,  but  there  are  in  the  United  States  cities 
of  a  million  inhabitants  and  cities  of  a  few  hundred.  The 
newspapers  published  in  cities  differing  thus  largely  in 
population  differ  as  largely  in  character.  Of  22,000  news¬ 
papers  and  periodicals  in  America,  probably  300  are  daily 
newspapers  of  general  circulation,  published  in  cities  of 

18 


THE  NEWSPAPER 


19 


more  than  250,000  inhabitants.  These  may  be  called  the 
metropolitan  dailies  or  the  metropolitan  press.  The  country 
press  consists  of  the  newspapers,  daily  and  weekly,  pub¬ 
lished  in  smaller  towns.  The  third  division  comprises  a 
large  body  of  class  journals,  of  weeklies,  of  monthlies,  of 
periodicals  in  newspaper  and  magazine  form,  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  some  special  class,  trade,  business  or  pro¬ 
fession. 

The  special  newspaper  or  periodical  is  of  such  varied 
form  that  it  can  not  be  classified  except  broadly  for  de¬ 
scription.  Under  the  general  classification  may  be  placed 
all  newspaper  and  periodical  publications  other  than  daily 
and  weekly  newspapers.  The  monthly  magazine,  which 
has  within  the  last  twenty  years  become  numerous,  ex¬ 
cellent  and  widely  circulated,  is  in  this  class.  The  spirit 
of  the  modern  newspaper  has  afifected  the  magazine  and 
it  has  added  timeliness  to  other  excellencies  and  become 
journalistic  rather  than  merely  literary.  Under  this  gen¬ 
eral  head  may  be  placed  the  weekly  journal  of  wide  cir¬ 
culation,  publishing  news  and  comment,  and  generally  pro¬ 
fusely  illustrated.  The  trade  and  class  newspaper  or  mag¬ 
azine  is  also  included.  Fraternal  orders,  religious  denom¬ 
inations,  businesses,  trades  and  professions  have  news¬ 
papers  which  serve  as  mediums  to  advocate  the  claims  or 
give  the  news  of  that  which  they  represent.  No  interest, 
however  small,  fails  to  have  a  periodical  devoted  to  it¬ 
self. 

The  country  newspaper,  as  distinguished  from  the  city 
or  metropolitan  newspaper,  is  the  most  numerous.  More 
than  16.000  American  newspapers  may  be  thus  classified. 
While  there  are  a  few  country  newspapers  issued  twice 
or  three  times  a  week,  the  great  majority — more  than  98 
per  cent — are  issued  daily  or  weekly.  The  country  weekly 


20 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


is  the  most  numerous  and  in  its  own  sphere,  if  ablv  con¬ 
ducted,  the  most  influential  journal.  In  the  United  States 
are  12,500  country  weeklies.  They  are  often  the  recruit¬ 
ing  ground  from  which  are  taken  workers  on  the  larger 
newspapers.  While  the  city  journalist  is  generally  a  special¬ 
ist,  the  country  journalist  must  be  acquainted  with  news¬ 
paper  work  of  all  kinds :  Reporting,  the  writing  of  edi¬ 
torials,  the  preparing  of  advertisements  and,  frequently,  the 
conduct  of  the  business  and  mechanical  departments. 
Towns  of  5,000  population  or  larger  usually  have  a  daily 
newspaper — one  or  more.  The  small  country  daily  is 
ordinarily  the  outgrowth  of  a  country  weekly,  the  town 
having  increased  in  population  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
demand  a  daily  newspaper.  In  the  smaller  cities,  having 
population  of  from  25,000  to  250,000,  there  are  daily  news¬ 
papers  which  approximate  in  character,  strength  and  news¬ 
service  the  metropolitan  dailies.  They  have  more  in  common 
with  the  metropolitan  dailies  than  with  the  country  news¬ 
papers  with  which  they  are  here  classified. 

The  city  newspapers  form  a  separate  class.  These  are 
metropolitan  dailies.  The  large  capital  necessary  for  their 
establishment  and  maintenance,  their  great  business  of  sub¬ 
scription  and  advertising  receipts,  their  far-reaching  news¬ 
service,  place  them  in  a  separate  class.  All  newspapers 
are  business  enterprises.  They  must  maintain  themselves 
in  order  to  continue  as  newspapers.  The  metropolitan  news¬ 
paper  requires  for  its  maintenance  an  expenditure  of  hun¬ 
dreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  annually  and  hence  its  con¬ 
duct  must  be  that  of  any  great  business  enterprise.  Three- 
fourths  of  its  revenue  comes  from  its  advertising.  It 
must  have  circulation  to  obtain  advertising.  This  circula¬ 
tion  is  obtained  only  by  the  publication  of  a  newspaper 
that  the  public  wishes  to  read.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 


THE  NEWSPAPER 


21 


that  advertisers  dictate  the  policy  of  a  newspaper.  This 
policy  depends  upon  the  most  powerful  agency  existing 
in  a  republic — public  opinion.  This  public  opinion  is  some¬ 
times  directed,  led,  controlled,  or  moulded  by  the  news¬ 
papers,  but  in  the  last  analysis  the  public  has  exactly  the 
kind  of  newspapers  it  desires.  If  it  does  not  have  such 
newspapers,  the  reason  is  that  the  newspaper  makers  do 
not  know  what  the  public  wants  or  should  want  or  do  not 
know  how  to  give  it  to  the  public.  This  applies  to  all 
classes  of  newspapers  and  periodicals,  city,  country,  and 
special. 


III.  THE  DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


Ths  newspaper  is  a  product  of  co-operation.  It  is  not 
an  output  of  one  man.  Except  in  the  smallest  offices, 
where  the  division  of  labor  is  less  sharply  defined,  there 
are  four  separate  and  distinct  departments  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  a  nev/spaper.  When  these  departments  are  con¬ 
founded,  journalism  is  indifferently  regarded  as  trade, 
business,  art  or  profession.  We  are  chiefly  concerned  with 
the  departments  that  have  to  do  with  the  gathering  and 
presentation  of  news  and  with  the  interpretation  of  and 
comment  upon  the  news.  Because  these  departments  con¬ 
stitute  the  real  heart  of  journalism,  we  call  journalism  a 
profession. 

Journalism,  in  its  various  branches,  may  properly  be  di¬ 
vided  into  these  four  departments: 

The  Gathering  and  Presentation  of  News. 

The  Editorial  Page  and  Policy. 

The  Business  Department. 

The  Printing  Department. 

The  news  is  the  first  essential  to  the  production  of  a 
newspaper.  The  very  name  of  the  product  suggests  its 
chief  purpose — to  give  the  news.  Its  editorial  page  may 
be  well-written  and  may  deal  with  timely  topics  in  at¬ 
tractive,  convincing  way,  but  the  publication  will  not  fill 
the  field  of  a  real  newspaper  unless  it  presents  the  news. 
The  right  presentation  of  the  news  is  the  very  essence  of 
good  journalism.  Hence  the  growing  importance  of  the 
news-pages,  the  emphasis  placed  upon  reporting,  the 
thousands  of  dollars  expended  by  news-associations  and  in¬ 
dividual  newspapers  in  obtaining,  assembling  and  present- 

22 


THE  DIVISION  OE  LABOR 


23 


ing  the  news.  The  department  of  journalism  which  has 
in  charge  the  gathering  and  presentation  of  news  is  the 
largest,  most  carefully  conducted  and  most  expensive.  It 
is  necessary  not  merely  to  know  what  is  the  news  and 
where  the  news  may  be  obtained.  It  is  also  necessary  to 
know  how  to  get  this  news,  and,  the  news  having  been 
obtained,  how  to  present  it  to  the  reader  of  the  news¬ 
paper  in  attractive,  interesting  fashion,  accurately,  tersely, 
fairly,  fully.  This  makes  necessary  well-informed  and  re¬ 
sourceful  news-editors,  a  large  staff  of  well-trained  and 
experienced  reporters,  artists  and  photographers  and  an 
organization  constantly  at  work,  which  is  effective  in  every 
part.  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  a  good  newspaper. 

Journalism  in  its  practice  involves  more  than  the  gather¬ 
ing  and  presentation  of  news.  Paradoxical  as  the  state¬ 
ment  may  seem,  a  newspaper  that  is  only  a  newspaper  is  not, 
in  the  best  sense,  a  newspaper.  The  presentation  of  the 
news  makes  necessary  interpretation  of  this  news  and  com¬ 
ment  upon  it.  Uninterpreted  news  would  make  a  news¬ 
paper  that  is  merely  a  gossip.  The  editorial  page  and 
policy  supplement  but  do  not  supplant  the  news  pages 
and  the  news.  Here  journalism  becomes  in  truest  sense 
the  profession  of  the  interpreter.  The  department  of 
journalism  which  has  to  do  with  the  editorial  direction  and 
control  is  the  very  heart  and  brain. 

The  newspaper  must  have  a  business  department.  It 
can  not  serve  the  public  unless  it  reaches  the  public.  It 
can  not  continue  to  reach  the  public  except  its  business 
department  is  successfully  conducted,  unless  it  makes  a 
living.  The  bread-and-butter  problem  is  ever  before  the 
newspaper,  as  before  every  business  enterprise.  The  pub¬ 
lisher  must  make  the  income  of  the  newspaper  at  least 
equal  its  outgo  or  it  will  soon  be  forced  into  bankruptcy. 


24 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


There  are  two  sources  of  income  for  the  newspaper — ad¬ 
vertising  and  circulation.  Upon  these  two  legs  the  business 
department  stands  and  supports  the  whole  newspaper. 
Here  journalism  is  a  business. 

For  the  production  of  a  newspaper  is  necessary  the 
fourth  department,  that  of  printing.  The  news  may  be 
gathered,  the  editorials  may  be  written,  the  advertising  and 
circulation  obtained,  but  the  printing  department  is  needed 
to  print  the  newspaper.  The  printers  are  the  real  makers 
of  the  newspaper.  They  put  in  type  the  news  and  edi¬ 
torials  and  advertisements,  they  do  the  press  work,  they 
carry  to  completion  all  the  mechanical  processes  necessary 
to  the  issuing  of  the  printed  journal.  Here  journalism 
becomes  a  trade. 

The  completed  product,  the  combined  efforts  of  reporters, 
editors,  publishers  and  printers,  is  the  modern  newspaper. 


IV.  THE  SUNDAY  PAPER. 


The  Sunday  paper  is  a  product  of  the  last  decade.  It 
is  peculiar  to  American  journalism.  In  no  other  country 
does  it  exist  as  in  the  United  States  and  in  the  United 
States  it  was  practically  non-existent  until  within  the  last 
ten  years.  The  Sunday  paper  is  not  merely  a  daily  news¬ 
paper  issued  on  Sunday.  Nor  is  it  merely  a  paper  larger 
than  the  average  daily  paper.  It  is  both  a  daily  paper  is¬ 
sued  on  Sunday  and  a  much  larger  paper  than  that  issued 
on  other  days,  but  it  is  more — it  is  an  entirely  different 
production. 

The  Sunday  paper  contains  many  special  features  and 
illustrations  of  a  character  not  found  in  the  ordinary  daily 
issue.  The  paper,  swollen  in  size  because  of  the  increased 
advertising,  which  in  turn  is  attracted  by  the  increased 
circulation  of  the  Sunday  edition,  is  commonly  issued  in 
several  sections  of  four,  eight,  twelve,  or  sixteen  pages 
each.  These  sections  contain  matter  suited  to  the  various 
tastes  of  the  various  readers.  One  section  may  be  devoted 
to  sports,  one  to  society  and  fashion,  one  to  “want”  ad¬ 
vertising,  one  to  literature,  one  to  general  news,  one  to  edi¬ 
torial,  etc.  Many  newspapers  have  a  separate  section  de¬ 
voted  to  colored,  comic  pictures  for  children.  Some  have 
magazine  sections,  issued  entirely  by  the  individual  news¬ 
paper  or  furnished  to  it  and  other  newspapers  by  a  “syn¬ 
dicate”  association. 

The  Sunday  editor  is  responsible  for  the  Sunday  paper 
outside  its  ordinary  news  and  editorial  features.  He  is  the 
managing  editor  of  these  sections  aside  from  all  news  and 
editorial  sections  for  Sunday  and  upon  him  devolves  the 

25 


26 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


issuing  of  a  newspaper  which  is  often  larger  than  any  is¬ 
sue  of  a  monthly  magazine.  He  must  gather  pictures  for 
the  Sunday  paper,  which  contains  many  pictures.  He 
must  be  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  new,  striking,  enter¬ 
taining  stories  which  can  be  treated  in  more  detail  than  is 
possible  in  the  daily  issues  of  the  week.  He  must  plan 
for  stories,  sketches,  literary  miscellany,  the  wide  range  of 
special  feature  articles  which  make  up  the  huge  Sunday 
edition.  His  work  begins  days  in  advance,  for  much  of 
the  Sunday  newspaper  must  be  printed  before  Sunday.  Ordi¬ 
narily  only  the  news  section  is  issued  Sunday  morning. 

The  newspaper  which  he  finally  produces  is  in  reality,  out¬ 
side  of  its  news  columns,  a  magazine.  Its  articles  in  the  main 
are  of  the  light,  sparkling  style  that  gives  the  ephemeral 
charm  to  the  American  newspaper.  There  are  serious,  in¬ 
formational  articles,  discussions  of  literary  and  political 
topics,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  Sunday  paper  is  character¬ 
ized  by  a  lightness  of  treatment.  This  Sunday  newspaper  is 
made  possible  by  the  great  amount  of  extra  advertising 
which  crowds  its  columns.  Merchants  generally  prefer  the 
Sunday  paper  as  a  medium  for  advertising  their  goods. 

The  special  feature  which  makes  up  so  large  a  part  of  the 
Sunday  newspaper  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  special 
dispatch  or  the  special  correspondence.  The  special  feature 
is  a  semi-news  or  wholly  imaginative  production,  devoted  to 
a  subject  of  popular  interest.  It  may  deal  with  any  subject 
in  which  the  public  is  supposed  to  be  interested — Arctic  ex¬ 
ploration,  inaugurations,  telegraphing  to  Mars,  the  gossip  of 
Washington,  the  mound-builders,  the  building  of  the  Panama 
Canal — the  subjects  which  are  treated  by  the  special  feature 
article  are  in  number  limitless.  This  special  feature  article 
is  sometimes  signed  with  the  name  of  the  writer.  In  case 
of  a  widely-known  and  popular  author,  this  gives  the  special 


THE  SUNDAY  PAPER 


27 


feature  larger  and  more  favorable  recognition  from  the 
public.  It  becomes  then,  indeed,  a  special  feature  of  the 
paper. 

The  special  feature  partakes  of  the  character  of  the  news 
story.  There  is  range  for  the  imagination,  however,  and  an 
opportunity  for  comment  that  does  not  exist  in  the  ordinary 
news  stories.  The  special  feature  article  is  an  outgrowth 
of  the  individual  and  special  article  which  was  published  in 
a  newspaper  as  the  feature  or  chief  attraction  of  the  day’s 
issue.  The  term  is  now  applied  to  all  articles  not  strictly 
routine  or  of  ordinary  news  character.  It  may  be  prepar¬ 
ed  by  a  member  of  the  regular  staff  of  reporters,  correspon¬ 
dents,  or  editors.  A  large  amount  of  the  feature  articles 
for  Sunday  editions  is  thus  prepared.  Some  newspapers  re¬ 
quire  a  Sunday  feature  story  as  part  of  the  week’s  work 
from  their  reporters.  Or  it  may  be  prepared  by  the  Sunday 
editor’s  own  staff.  On  the  largest  newspapers  he  has  a 
special  staff  of  artists,  editors,  writers,  and  reporters,  whose 
work,  under  his  direction,  is  entirely  upon  the  Sunday 
paper.  Or  it  may  be  contribution  from  an  outside  source, 
voluntarily  sent  in  or  written  by  request  of  the  Sunday 
editor.  The  increasing  cost  of  the  Sunday  newspaper  has 
caused  co-operation  among  their  publishers  for  Sunday 
feature  articles  as  had  existed  for  years  among  the  publish¬ 
ers’  news  associations.  Organizations  have  been  formed 
which  furnish  newspapers  in  different  cities  with  the  same 
feature  stories,  for  simultaneous  publication.  In  this  way 
a  higher  class  of  feature  stories  may  be  procured  at  com¬ 
paratively  small  expense  to  each  newspaper,  but  thus  pro¬ 
cured  they  necessarily  lack  the  local  color  and  individual 
treatment  possessed  by  the  feature  story  written  for  a 
single  newspaper. 


28 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  Sunday  newspaper  offers  a  field  for  the  would-be 
journalist  not  open  on  the  daily  issue  of  the  same  news¬ 
paper.  The  Sunday  editor,  with  more  space  at  his  disposal, 
is  eager  for  such  stories,  cleverly  and  entertainingly  told. 
The  voluntary  contributor  has  an  opportunity  to  furnish 
such  stories,  although  his  chances  of  success  in  competi¬ 
tion  with  the  trained  journalist  are  slight. 


V.  THE  BUSINESS  DEPARTMENT. 


The  newspaper  is  a  business  enterprise.  It  must  have  an 
income  equal  to  or  larger  than  the  expense  of  maintenance 
or  it  will  cease  to  exist.  In  this  regard  the  newspaper  is  a 
business  enterprise  and  is  thus  conducted. 

At  the  head  of  the  newspaper  as  a  business  enterprise 
is  the  publisher  or  business  manager.  Outside  the  editorial 
rooms  and  subject  only  to  the  direction  of  the  owners  his 
word  is  law.  He  must  conceive  and  execute  plans  for  secur¬ 
ing  adequate  income.  He  must  regulate  the  expenses,  make 
necessary  purchases,  conduct  the  business.  While  he  has 
many  assistants,  the  business  control  and  operation  of  the 
newspaper  is  in  final  analysis  in  his  hands. 

His  duties  are  as  manifold  as  the  duties  of  the  head  of 
any  great  business  enterprise.  As  capital,  to  establish  a 
great  metropolitan  daily  newspaper  is  required  millions  of 
dollars.  Its  weekly  expense  account  is  easily  thousands  of 
dollars.  To  pay  interest  and  profits  upon  the  large  capital, 
to  meet  the  weekly  expense  account,  with  a  margin,  is  the 
constant  struggle  of  the  business  manager. 

He  must  conduct  the  business  department  in  conference 
with  the  editorial  department.  Only  harmony  can  bring  the 
results.  As  a  business  enterprise,  the  newspaper  exists  to 
make  money.  It  can  not,  however,  make  money  unless  it 
sells  its  advertising  space  at  fair  price.  Advertisers  will 
not  buy  space  in  newspapers  that  are  without  circulation. 
Circulation  can  not  be  obtained  and  held  except  the  news¬ 
paper  publishes  the  news  and  comments  upon  it  in  a  way 
to  attract  readers.  Hence  the  success  of  the  editorial  depart- 

29 


30 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


ment  and  the  success  of  the  business  department  go  together. 

The  business  manager  has  two  sources  of  income  for  an 
honest  newspaper,  advertising  and  circulation.  The  dis¬ 
honest  newspaper  may  sell  itself,  its  editorial  policy,  by  taking 
bribes,  but  there  are  so  few  newspapers  of  this  kind  that 
they  may  not  be  considered  here.  From  the  sale  of  single 
copies  of  the  newspaper  at  an  insignificant  price  a  copy 
come  the  circulation  receipts.  From  the  sale  of  advertising 
space  in  the  columns  of  the  newspaper  come  the  advertis¬ 
ing  receipts.  From  these  two  sources  is  derived  the  in¬ 
come  from  which  the  business  manager  must  meet  the 
entire  expense  of  the  office. 

Circulation  is  the  first  source  of  income,  but  the  smallest. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  publisher  or  business  manager 
is  the  circulation  manager  and  his  assistants.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  circulation  manager  to  procure  buyers  of  the  news¬ 
paper.  This  is  done  in  many  ways,  personal  solicitation 
and  the  carrier  system  being  the  most  general.  Some 
newspapers  add  to  their  circulation  by  premiums,  voting 
contests,  and  other  schemes.  The  modern  city  newspaper 
is  sold  on  the  news-stands  or  delivered  by  carriers.  Often 
a  separate  organization  or  news-agency  has  entire  charge 
of  the  newspaper’s  circulation.  Copies  are  sold  daily  to 
carriers  or  news-agency  and  here  the  circulation  manag¬ 
er’s  responsibility  apparently  ends.  The  carriers  or  news- 
agency  in  turn  delivers  the  paper  to  the  persons  who  buy 
it  from  them.  However  much  of  this  organization  of  sale 
and  delivery  is  outside  the  office,  the  circulation  manager  is 
never  wholly  free  from  responsibility.  He  must  plan  for 
larger  circulation. 

With  circulation  secured  the  business  manager  has  the 
question  of  obtaining  advertising.  Here  he  has  the  as¬ 
sistance  of  the  advertising  manager.  At  best  the  circula- 


THE  BUSINESS  DEPARTMENT 


31 


tion  receipts  of  a  newspaper  are  small  compared  with  the 
advertising  receipts.  The  advertising  manager  is  the 
chief  money-getter  of  the  modern  newspaper  establish¬ 
ment.  His  duty  is  to  sell  at  the  highest  price  the  market 
will  permit  advertising  space  in  his  newspaper.  Without 
advertising  every  newspaper  would  be  conducted  at  a  loss. 

The  obtaining  and  preparation  of  advertising  has  become 
a  most  important  field  of  modern  industry.  The  successful 
advertising  writer  commands  a  high  salary  and  his  services 
are  in  demand.  Millions  of  dollars  are  each  year  paid  out 
for  advertising  space  in  newspapers.  The  right  use  of 
this  space  to  attract  trade,  to  sell  goods,  to  carry  on  prop¬ 
aganda,  requires  a  peculiar  and  high  order  of  talent.  Here 
the  writer  of  forceful,  clear,  concise  and  sparkling 
English  finds  opportunity.  In  the  preparation  of  advertis¬ 
ing  copy  the  illustrator  also  finds  employment. 

The  publisher  continually  strives  to  improve  upon  his 
newspaper,  its  appearance,  its  attractiveness,  the  economy 
of  its  production,  the  swiftness  of  its  delivery  to  its 
readers.  He  watches  the  printing  department  to  find  out 
whether  new  machinery,  new  methods  of  composition  or 
of  press  work  will  not  produce  the  newspaper  more  quick¬ 
ly  or  at  less  expense.  He  studies  the  manufacture  of 
paper,  the  stock,  as  it  is  called,  the  white  paper  upon  which 
the  journal  is  printed,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  save  money 
at  this  point.  He  considers  carefully  and  constantly  the 
questions  of  circulation,  how  to  obtain  readers  and  how 
to  get  his  newspaper  with  least  loss  of  time  and  effort 
to  these  readers.  The  publisher  of  a  most  successful 
American  newspaper  has  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  the 
chief  effort  in  a  newspaper  office  should  be  placed  upon 
getting  a  newspaper  each  day  to  the  reader  at  exactly  the 


32 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


same  time — the  earliest  time  possible.  Fast  mail  trains 
are  the  creation  of  the  newspaper  publisher. 

There  are  prizes  in  journalism  in  its  business  depart¬ 
ment.  In  the  higher  and  more  responsible  positions  the 
salaries  are  large  and  the  work  fascinating  through  its 
very  strenuousness.  Advertising  has  come  to  be  a  separate 
and  distinct  business.  Courses  in  advertising  are  given 
in  many  schools.  The  business  covers  a  wide  field.  It 
involves,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  all  publicity.  The  more 
experienced  the  expert  advertising  solicitors,  agents,  and 
writers  rank  with  the  best  paid  men  in  other  businesses. 
This  is  true  also  of  the  circulation  experts,  men  who  can 
feel  the  pulse  of  the  public  and  successfully  give  prescrip¬ 
tion.  The  business  manager  or  publisher  has  even  larger 
field  in  which  to  work  for  he  must  do  these  things  and 


more. 


VI.  THE  PRINTING  DEPARTMENT. 


The  printing  department  turns  out  the  finished  news¬ 
paper.  The  news  collected  and  written  by  reporters,  the 
editorial  interpretation  and  comment,  the  advertisements, 
all  that  has  been  assembled  under  direction  of  editor  and 
publisher,  comes  in  the  form  of  “copy”  to  the  printers. 
It  is  this  body  of  skilled  workmen  who  may  be  with  truth 
said  to  “make  the  newspaper.”  They  take  manuscript 
and  from  it,  through  aid  of  type-metal  and  press  and  with 
ink  and  paper,  manufacture  the  newspaper.  Of  the  print¬ 
ing  department  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
journalism  may  well  know  somewhat.  Their  knowledge 
will  make  them  better  journalists,  even  should  their  duties 
be  confined  to  the  gathering  of  news  or  the  writing  of 
comment.  For  the  purposes  of  this  volume,  however,  it 
will  suffice  merely  to  give  a  general  account  of  the  print¬ 
ing  department  as  of  the  business  department  without 
.entering  upon  any  detailed  instruction. 

The  printing  department  may  be  divided  into  four 
parts  :  Composition,  engraving,  stereotyping,  presswork.  In 
the  composing  room  the  type  is  set  or  cast.  In  the  engraving 
room  the  illustrations,  which  have  come  to  occupy  such  a 
large  space  in  the  newspaper,  are  made.  In  the  stereo¬ 
typing  room  are  made  stereotype  plates  for  use  upon  the 
presses.  In  the  press  room  are  the  presses  upon  which  the 
newspaper  is  finally  printed. 

The  copy  goes  first  to  the  composing  room.  Here  are 
the  men  usually  known  as  the  printers.  With  an  organ¬ 
ization  planned  for  swift  work,  as  the  organization  of  all 
’epartments  of  a  newspaper  office  are  planned — the  copy 

33 


2 


34 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


is  distributed  to  the  printers  to  be  put  in  type.  The  print¬ 
ers  are  called  compositors  or  machine  operators  or  linotype 
operators  or  simply  linotype  men.  Until  recently  all  copy 
was  put  in  type  by  hand.  Now,  excepting  some  display 
advertising,  practically  all  the  copy  is  set  on  a  linotype 
machine.  It  is  more  accurate  to  say  that  the  type  is  cast. 
The  machine,  called,  from  the  fact  that  it  casts  an  entire 
line  at  a  time,  linotype,  is  operated  much  as  a  typewriter 
is  operated  and  the  resulting  product  is  a  slug  or  line  of 
type  cast  from  molten  metal.  Proof  sheets  of  the  slugs 
or  type  are  taken.  After  these  proof  sheets — called  in 
newspaper  offices  simply  proofs — are  read  by  proof-read¬ 
ers  for  errors,  the  errors  marked  are  corrected,  the  slugs 
or  type  are  “made  up”  into  a  “form.”  This  “form” 
is  the  columns  of  type  or  slugs  which  constitute  a  page. 
When  a  page  is  thus  made  up,  it  is  sent  to  the  stereo¬ 
typing  room  or,  in  smaller  offices,  where  no  stereotyping 
is  done  but  where  the  newspaper  is  printed  directly  from 
the  type,  it  is  ready  for  the  press  room. 

The  engraving  room  is  not  essential  to  the  production 
of  a  newspaper.  Nearly  all  metropolitan  newspaper  of¬ 
fices,  however,  have  an  engraving  room.  Here  are  made 
the  plates  from  which  pictures  of  all  kinds  are  produced 
in  the  newspapers.  These  plates  are  of  two  general  dis¬ 
cretions,  zinc  etchings  and  photo-engravings.  The  zinc 
etchings  are  made  from  pen-and-ink  sketches  or  drawings. 
The  photo-engravings  are  made  on  copper  from  photo¬ 
graphs.  These  are  often  called  half-tones,  from  the  process 
employed  in  their  manufacture.  The  frequent  and  growing 
use  of  the  picture  in  newspaper-making  has  added  the 
newspaper  artist  to  the  staff  of  every  great  newspaper.  Car¬ 
toons  are  regular  features  of  most  newspapers.  While  the 
sketching  of  the  cartoons  may  be  considered  separately  more 


THE  PRINTING  DEPARTMENT 


35 


of  an  editorial  or  news  character,  the  actual  production  of 
the  plates  of  the  cartoon  for  printing  is  done  in  the  engrav¬ 
ing  room  by  the  engravers.  The  cartoonist  supplies  the 
“copy”  to  the  engraver,  as  the  reporter  supplies  the  “copy” 
to  the  linotype  operator. 

The  great  metropolitan  journals  are  not  printed  directly 
from  type  or  linotype  slugs.  They  are  printed  from  stereo¬ 
type  plates.  The  type  or  slugs  is  taken  in  the  form  to  the 
stereotypers.  The  stereotypers  make  a  matrix  of  papier- 
mache  from  this  form  and  then  from  the  matrix  stereo¬ 
type  plates,  curved  to  fit  the  cylinder  of  the  press,  are 
made,  as  many  as  desired,  quickly  and,  of  course,  clear 
the  exact  reproductions  of  the  type  form.  The  form  is 
returned  to  the  composing  room  and,  if  of  linotype  metal, 
is  melted  to  be  again  used  in  making  linotype  slugs.  The 
stereotype  plates  are  rushed  to  the  press  room. 

In  the  press  room  the  last  act  of  newspapr  production 
takes  place.  The  stereotype  plates  are  adjusted  to  the 
cylinders  of  the  presses,  the  white  paper  is  fed  automatical¬ 
ly  from  huge  spools  into  the  press,  the  rollers  apply  the 
ink  to  the  stereotype  plates,  the  wheels  go  round  and  the 
presses  turn  out  the  newspaper.  Improved  machinery  has 
made  it  possible  for  the  pressmen  to  have  fed  automatical¬ 
ly  into  a  press  a  long  ribbon  of  white  paper  and  have  turned 
out  a  twenty-four  page  newspaper,  printed,  cut,  folded, 
pasted,  ready  for  delivery  to  the  reader.  If  one  press  is 
not  sufficient  for  the  production  of  enough  copies  to  supply 
quickly  the  demand  of  the  circulation  department,  others 
are  added.  The  swiftness  with  which  large  editions  can 
be  issued  is  limited  only  to  the  capacity  of  the  press  rooms. 
When  it  is  recalled  that  some  newspapers  have  a  circula¬ 
tion  of  hundreds  of  thousands  daily  it  will  be  seen  how 
great  is  the  demand  upon  the  press  room.  The  improve- 


36 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


ment  in  printing  machinery,  however,  has  met  the  demand 
here,  as  in  the  other  divisions  of  the  printing  department. 

With  the  completion  of  the  work  of  the  press  room,  the 
finished  product  of  the  practice  of  journalism,  the  news¬ 
paper,  is  ready  for  delivery  to  the  circulation  department 
and  the  work  of  the  printing  department  ends.  Upon  the 
skill  and  intelligence  of  the  men  in  the  printing  department 
depends  a  large  share  of  the  credit  for  the  production  of 
the  newspaper.  Newspaper-making  is  by  no  means  ended 
when  the  copy  of  reporter,  editor,  and  artist  goes  to  the 
printer.  It  requires  the  co-operation  of  a  large  and  in¬ 
telligent  body  of  skilled  workmen  to  complete  the  publica¬ 
tion — to  make  the  newspaper — and  this  the  printing  de¬ 
partment  supplies. 


I 


s, 


PART  III.  EDITORIAL. 


I.  Editorial  Direction. 

II.  Editorial  Style. 

III.  The  Writing  of  Editorials. 


37 


I.  EDITORIAL  DIRECTION. 


The  newspaper  that  gives  only  the  news  is  not  a  news¬ 
paper.  The  real  newspaper  interprets  the  news,  comments 
upon  the  news,  argues  from  the  news  in  advocacy  of 
cause  or  individual.  It  has  editorial  opinions.  There  must 
be  direction  of  the  editorial  policy  of  a  newspaper. 

Editorial  direction  implies  an  executive  head.  This 
executive  head  is  responsible  for  the  forming  of  the  news¬ 
paper’s  policy  and  for  carrying  it  out.  The  ownership  of 
the  newspaper  may  be  individual  or  corporate  and  the 
responsibility  of  the  executive  may  be  to  a  corporation 
board  or  to  a  single  individual.  In  rare  instances  through 
his  own  personal  ownership  of  the  journal,  he  becomes 
responsible  to  himself.  The  executive  is  variously  called 
the  managing  editor,  the  editor-in-chief,  or  simply  the 
editor.  In  the  largest  newspapers  sometimes  all  three 
offices  exist,  in  order  of  authority,  editor,  editor-in-chief, 
managing  editor.  While  the  editorial  page  is  immediately 
under  his  personal  supervision,  the  general  policy  for¬ 
mulated  through  him  is  carried  out  by  all  departments. 

There  are  editors  who  write,  others  who  write  and  edit, 
and  yet  others  who  only  direct.  The  chief  duty  of  the 
editor,  the  executive  head  of  the  newspaper,  is  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  editorial  policy.  Personally,  or  through  his 
representative,  he  passes  upon  everything  that  is  to  appear 
in  the  newspaper  which  will  affect  in  any  way  its  opinion 
or  its  policy.  He  seldom  writes  editorial  articles.  He 
directs  the  writing  of  others. 

The  editorial  policy  must  be  such  as  to  keep  and  win 
readers.  The  newspaper  is  a  commercial  enterprise.  In 

39 


40 


THE  PRACTICF  OF  JOURNALISM 


order  to  continue  to  exist  it  must  have  revenue  derived 
from  circulation  and  advertising.  While  it  controls  and 
moulds  public  opinion,  through  its  news  and  editorial 
columns,  its  policy  is  itself  a  reflex  of  public  opinion. 
There  is  constant  interplay  between  the  policy  of  the  news¬ 
paper  and  public  opinion,  each  acting  and  reacting  upon 
the  other.  The  editor  takes  this  into  consideration  in 
formulating  the  policy  of  his  newspaper.  However  much 
he  may  wish  to  do  so,  he  cannot  get  too  far  in  advance 
of  his  readers.  Without  circulation  he  will  not  have  ad¬ 
vertising.  Without  advertising  and  circulation  he  will 
not  long  have  a  newspaper.  Self-preservation  is  the  first 
law  of  a  newspaper. 

The  successful  editor  has  the  news  sense.  He  has  also 
the  executive  capacity  necessary  to  conduct  a  great  busi¬ 
ness  enterprise,  decision,  ripeness  of  judgment,  knowledge 
of  men  and  affairs,  ability  to  get  along  with  people.  He 
works  with  and  through  others.  His  decisions  must  be 
quickly  made.  He  must  have  broad  vision.  He  must 
sense  the  public.  He  is  the  general  of  an  army,  the  head 
of  a  department  store,  the  diplomat,  the  judge,  the  over¬ 
seer,  the  literary  critic,  the  director.  His  position  demands 
breadth  of  knowledge,  freedom  from  personal  bias,  the 
judicial  temperament,  all  united  with  high  order  of  execu¬ 
tive  ability.  The  prizes  in  journalism  are  for  the  directors 
of  journalism,  the  executive  heads. 

The  organization  of  the  metropolitan  newspaper  in¬ 
cludes  other  responsible  directors.  The  editor  represents 
the  owner  and  the  publisher  directs  the  business  administra¬ 
tion.  Sometimes  the  two  are  combined  in  one  individual. 
Where  there  is  a  managing  editor,  he  is  the  newspaper 
man  who  comes  directly  in  contact  with  the  people.  He 
represents  the  newspaper  organization  in  dealings  with 


EDITORIAL  DIRECTION 


41 


men  and  women  who  wish  or  do  not  wish  the  paper’s 
policy  to  he  changed  or  continued.  He  is  the  mainspring, 
the  motive  power  of  editorial  and  news  forces.  He  makes 
the  journalistic  wheels  go  round. 

Directly  under  the  managing  editor  are  the  city,  news, 
telegraph,  and  Sunday  editors.  In  some  newspaper  organ¬ 
izations  the  duties  of  the  various  editors  are  combined. 
There  is  a  growing  tendency,  for  example,  to  concentrate 
under  one  head  all  the  news  of  the  day,  whether  this  news 
comes  from  local  or  foreign  sources,  through  city  reporter 
or  out-of-town  correspondent.  Other  so-called  department 
editors  are  reporters  rather  than  editors.  These  are  rail¬ 
road,  financial,  literary,  dramatic,  religious,  society  editors. 
The  names  suggest  the  general  classes  of  news  with 
which  each  has  to  deal.  The  sporting  editor  occupies 
a  somewhat  different  field.  He  is  both  reporter  and  editor. 

The  problem  of  the  editorial  director,  whatever  his  title 
and  however  the  newspaper  office  is  organized,  is  the  same. 
This  problem  is  the  public.  It  is  the  same  problem  on  the 
smallest  country  weekly  as  on  the  great  metropolitan 
daily,  with  millions  of  capital  invested  and  a  very  host 
of  men  and  women  employed  upon  its  staff.  This  problem 
cannot  be  solved  once  for  all  time.  It  is  a  constantly 
recurring  problem,  requiring  daily,  almost  momentarily 
new  solution. 

The  director  of  the  newspaper  usually  finds  his  way 
into  the  position  from  the  less  conspicuous  places  in  journal¬ 
ism.  He  most  frequently  comes  up  from  the  ranks  of  re¬ 
porters,  department  editors,  or  managers.  Occasionally 
he  comes  from  a  post  in  a  vocation  outside  journalism  in 
which  the  same  general  qualities  have  been  demanded  for 
success  as  in  the  position  which  he  assumes.  These  cases 
are  rare,  however.  The  most  successful  editorial  directors 


42 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


have  won  their  spurs  in  contests  of  minor  note  in  the 
journalistic  field. 

“Never  was  the  place  of  journalism  in  the  order  of 
civilization  and  progress  more  important,  more  essential 
than  It  is  to-day,”  writes  Harry  Lawson,  president  of  the 
British  Institute  of  Journalists,  editor  of  the  London  Daily 
Telegraph.  “It  is  sometimes  said  that  newspapers  only 
echo  back  the  voice  of  the  public ;  it  is  infinitely  truer  to 
say  that  we  make  the  public  echo  our  voice  whilst  they 
vainly  think  we  echo  theirs.”  It  is  the  editorial  director 
upon  whom  the  final  responsibility  largely  rests  for  the 
determination  of  the  character  of  the  content  of  journalism. 


II.  EDITORIAL  STYLE. 


The  newspaper  editorial  is  to  be  read  hastily.  Its  style, 
therefore,  should  be  simple  and  clear.  The  first  sentence 
should  attract,  but  should  not,  as  a  rule,  tell  the  whole 
story.  The  news-story  and  the  editorial  are  constructed 
on  different  lines  and  the  skillful  journalistic  style  is  dif¬ 
ferent  for  each. 

Style  is  caught  and  taught.  It  may  be  acquired  by  ob¬ 
servation,  industry,  study.  It  may  be  improved  by  writing 
and  re-writing.  The  best  style  is  the  writer’s  own,  not 
borrowed,  not  slavishly  imitated.  While  the  editorial  style 
may  best  be  singular,  it  should  not  be  freakish.  It  should 
fit  the  topic  discussed.  The  editorial  should  be  direct  and 
clear  in  expression.  The  art  of  the  craftsman  should  be 
employed  in  the  construction  that  no  one  who  reads  may 
mistake  the  meaning.  This  craftsman’s  art  may  properly 
consider  paragraphing,  punctuation  and  the  various  me¬ 
chanical  devices  which  attract  attention  and  make  clearer 
the  writer’s  meaning.  No  editorial,  however,  should  be 
presented  in  a  way  that  will  place  the  emphasis  of  interest 
upon  the  mechanical  devices  rather  than  upon  the  thought 
expressed.  Style  is  the  vehicle  of  expression  and  the 
thought  is  more  important  than  the  vehicle. 

Perhaps  no  characteristic  of  editorial  style  is  more  vital 
than  accuracy.  Mere  truthfulness  is  not  here  meant, 
oy  accuracy  is  meant  the  fitting  of  the  words  to  the 
thought.  As  a  garment  fits  the  body,  so  is  editorial  style 
to  the  subject  discussed.  Looseness  is  objectionable.  Wast¬ 
ed  or  superfluous  words  hinder  the  best  results.  So,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  a  too  bare  style, 

43 


44 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


style  that  is  pared  down  to  the  fewest  possible  words,  may 
fit  too  closely  to  he  comfortable  to  the  reader.  Accuracy 
is  the  choice  of  the  exact  words,  in  number  no  more,  no 
less,  in  color  and  shade  of  meaning  chosen  with  reference 
to  the  subject  matter. 

But  an  editorial  style  that  is  only  accurate  may  be  too 
precise.  It  may  substitute  “school  ma’am  English”  for 
newspaper  English.  Beware  of  such  substitutes.  Slavish 
dependence  upon  grammatical  rules,  thorough  outlining  of 
the  newspaper  article  to  be  written  may  lead  to  an  elimina¬ 
tion  of  the  abundant  life  which  is  fundamental  to  the  best 
style.  The  words  may  well  be  laid  in  proper  place  by  the 
craftsman,  but  they  must  be  words  full  of  life  and  move¬ 
ment.  Audacity  of  expression  characterizes  the  best  edito¬ 
rial  style.  It  has  a  dash,  an  apparent  carelesseness  of  con¬ 
sequences  that  attracts  and  fairly  compels  attention.  It 
is  the  reverse  of  the  stereotyped,  the  hackneyed,  the  com¬ 
monplace. 

Close  akin  to  the  audacity  of  style  is  the  quality  which 
may  be  defined  as  sparkle.  This  is  the  result  of  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  sparkling  words,  words  which  of  themselves  are 
more  brilliant  than  ordinary  words  and  expressions,  or 
combinations  for  this  effect.  It  is  the  quality  that  lends 
brightness  to  the  treatment  of  otherwise  dull  subjects. 
It  gives  the  light  touch  to  editorial  treatment  which  re¬ 
moves  the  dreariness.  A  sparkling  style  does  not  mean  a 
humorous  style,  nor  does  it  mean  a  witty  style,  although 
wit  and  humor  are  valuable  assets  for  any  writer. 

“Remember  the  other  fellow,”  is  a  good  rule  to  observe 
in  all  writing  and  all  speech.  It  is  specially  so  in  editorial 
writing  which  has  for  its  only  object  the  entertainment,  in¬ 
formation,  instruction  or  conversion  of  the  reader.  Good 
editorial  style,  therefore,  argues  and  persuades  where  con- 


EDITORIAL  STYLE 


‘to 

version  is  desired,  as  it  sparkles  where  entertainment  is 
the  object.  The  editorial  that  wins  supporters  for  the 
principle  advocated  is  written  with  breadth  of  view.  It  is 
not  narrow,  bigoted,  nor  prejudiced.  Disrespectful  epithets 
are  barred  from  it.  It  may  shock,  excite,  even  horrify, 
but  it  never  disgusts.  It  will  not  scold.  It  will  seek  to 
persuade  by  “sweet  reasonableness”  rather  than  abuse.  If 
argumentative  it  will  seek  to  convince  the  reader  rather 
than  merely  to  express  the  writer’s  opinions.  Persuasion 
is  ever  a  more  important  object  than  controversy.  Patience 
and  good  temper  are  fundamental.  The  good  workman, 
it  has  been  well  said,  is  not  judged  by  the  chips  on  his 
shoulder. 

In  the  last  analysis  heart  and  conscience  and  manners,  as 
well  as  brain  power,  determine  style.  Never  write  any¬ 
thing  as  a  journalist  that  you  would  not  write  as  a  gentle¬ 
man.  The  best  style  has  conscience  in  it  and  heart  and  the 
fine  courtesy  of  the  real  gentleman.  It  does  not  wound 
unnecessarily,  it  does  not  cause  women  to  blush.  It  is 
never  sold  to  unworthy  ends.  Each  editorial  writer  is  at 
last  responsible  for  what  he  writes.  He  may  not  hide 
behind  corporate  ownership  of  a  newspaper.  He  may  not 
throw  responsibility  upon  employer,  associates,  or  the 
public.  What  he  writes,  if  well  and  truthfully  or  ill  done, 
is  himself  in  written  words. 


m.  THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS. 


Under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  editor  are  the  edi¬ 
torial  writers.  Their  work  is  to  write  the  editorial  para¬ 
graphs  and  longer  articles  appearing  upon  the  editorial 
page.  It  is  in  these  articles  more  than  anywhere  else  in 
the  paper  that  the  editorial  policy  is  expressed.  The  edi¬ 
torial  page  is  the  page  of  comment  and  interpretation.  Up¬ 
on  this  page  are  also  often  found  book  reviews,  art  and 
dramatic  criticism,  poetry,  humorous  and  witty  paragraphs, 
and  stories  which  can  be  classified  neither  as  news  nor 
editorial  interpretation  nor  comment. 

The  editorial  writers  are  sometimes  taken  from  the 
reporters,  but  often  direct  from  the  ranks  of  college  grad¬ 
uates  or  from  other  professions.  They  are  selected  be¬ 
cause  of  their  ability  to  write  strong,  clear  English,  in 
interpretative,  argumentative  way,  rapidly  and  in  the  style 
specially  desired  by  the  newspaper. 

^  Edwin  L.  Shuman,  a  Chicago  journalist,  has  written: 

“A  typical  editorial  article  is  a  critical  interpretation 
of  current  news.  The  editorial  writer  takes  up  the  more 
important  news  topics  of  the  day  and  philosophizes  upon 
them,  attempting  to  point  out  the  relation  of  isolated  facts 
to  each  other  and  to  general  principles.  He  seeks  out 
historical  precedents  and  lends  perspective  to  events  that 
are  flat  and  meaningless  when  seen  only  close  at  hand. 
The  editorial  goes  beneath  the  surface  and  seeks  for  causes, 
effect  and  remedies.  In  this  respect  M.  de  Blowitz’s  dic¬ 
tum  probably  is  true :  ‘One  good  comment  is  worth  ten  in¬ 
formations.’  The  editorial  opinion  of  a  well-trained  mind 
is  to  news  matter  what  the  finished  linen  is  to  the  raw 

46 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


47 


flax.  But  one  man  wants  his  raw  material  woven  into  a 
free-trade  editorial,  while  another  wants  a  protective  tariff 
product ;  one  wants  liberalism,  and  another  orthodoxy ; 
one  likes  slashing  and  savage  criticism — of  other  people 
— while  another  prefers  dignified  and  temperate  comment. 
Each  paper  must  choose  which  class  of  readers  it  will 
serve. 

“A  good  editorial  should  be  timely,  brief,  well-informed, 
comprehensive,  and  pungent.  The  best  model  embodies 
a  restatement  of  the  news  involved,  followed  by  clear-cut 
comment  on  it  from  the  paper’s  point  of  view.  Some¬ 
times  an  editorial  may  consist  largely  of  a  resume  of 
news  matter  that  has  been  appearing  piecemeal  in  the 
telegraphic  or  local  columns ;  in  fact,  many  people  read  the 
editorials  chiefly  for  the  condensations  of  news  found  there. 
But  the  essence  of  the  editorial  is  the  comment  it  contains. 
The  editorial  page  is  the  one  set  aside  for  special  pleading, 
for  partisan  views,  for  distinctive  opinions  on  debatable 
questions.  The  more  this  element  fades  out  of  it  the  less 
reason  will  it  have  for  existing. 

“The  writing  of  the  best  class  of  editorials  requires  ripe 
judgment  and  a  wide  range  of  knowledge,  especially  in 
political  and  social  history.  The  highest  success  as  an 
editorial  writer  requires  an  exhaustive  studv  of  American 
politics,  from  the  foundation  principles  of  the  Constitution 
to  the  last  election  returns  in  every  state.  Politics  is  a 
hard  and  complicated  subject,  and  only  years  of  study  and 
observation  can  make  one  an  expert  writer  in  this  most 
important  journalistic  specialty.  A  man  should  have  a  nat¬ 
ural  interest  in  politics  in  order  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
newspaper  profession.  Mr.  Dana  had  this  fact  in  mind  when 
he  said  that  he  could  tell  whether  a  young  man  would 
make  a  good  journalist  or  not  merely  by  watching  what 


48 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


part  of  the  paper  he  turns  to  first  in  the  morning.  If  he 
looks  for  the  political  page  it  is  a  good  sign.  If  his  first 
thought  is  to  look  for  a  love  story  he  is  not  a  hopeful 
candidate  for  journalistic  honors,  though  he  may  succeed 
as  a  fiction  writer.  There  are  other  branches  besides 
politics,  however,  that  may  give  a  man  a  lucrative  place 
on  an  editorial  staff.  Finance  is  one  of  the  best  of  these.” 

It  is  here  that  the  college  graduate  has  excellent  op¬ 
portunity.  The  broad  education  received  in  college  or 
university,  added  to  professional  training,  fit  him  for  the 
work  of  writing  editorials. 

The  editorial,  aside  from  its  other  qualities  of  clearness, 
terseness,  truthfulness,  and  persuasiveness,  must  be  timely. 
Discussion  of  the  tariff  is  not  timely  in  a  municipal  cam¬ 
paign,  where  the  license  system  is  the  only  issue.  It  is 
not  timely  to  discuss  the  ethics  of  Christmas  gifts  on  the 
Fourth  of  July. 

Editorial  articles  are  of  several  distinct  kinds.  They 
may  be  news-editorials,  articles  which  sum  up  the  news 
and  contain  but  slight  editorial  comment.  Many  weekly 
newspapers  publish  such  editorials,  giving  the  week’s  news 
in  briefer  form  than  the  dailies.  They  may  be  descriptive 
or  narrative,  in  which  cases  they  approach  more  nearly 
to  the  special  feature  article  of  the  newspaper.  They  may  be 
argumentative,  presenting  the  newspaper’s  views  with  small 
reference  to  the  immediate  news.  They  may  be  interpre¬ 
tative,  setting  out  the  news  in  a  form  that  will  present  it 
more  clearly  in  all  its  meaning  to  the  reader  than  can  be 
done  in  the  news  columns. 

The  fact  that  newspaper  editorials  must  be  timely  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  newspaper  readers  makes  them  brief 
of  life.  The  life  of  a  daily  newspaper,  it  has  been  said,  is 
thirty  minutes.  While  this  is  an  exaggeration,  it  is  certain 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


49 


that  the  newspaper  editorial  is  extremely  short-lived.  When 
it  is  sufficiently  permanent  in  form  and  appeal  to  merit  a 
long  life,  it  is  hardly  often  characterized  by  the  timeli¬ 
ness  necessary  for  the  ordinary  newspaper  editorial.  While 
recognizing  this  fact,  it  is  worth  while  to  present  speci¬ 
mens  of  newspaper  editorials  on  widely  varying  subjects 
from  widely  separated  newspapers. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  florid  editorial,  rich  in  the  color¬ 
ing  of  adjectives,  abounding  in  historical  allusion,  is  quoted 
from  Major  John  N.  Edwards,  in  the  Kansas  City  Times, 
May  29,  1870,  this  article  upon  “Poor  Carlotta 

Dispatches  from  Europe  say  that  the  malady  is  at  its  worst,  and 
that  the  young  widow  of  Maximilian  is  near  her  death  hour.  Ah ! 
when  the  grim  king  does  come,  he  will  bring  to  her  a  blessing  and 
a  benediction.  The  beautiful  brown  eyes  have  been  lusterless 
these  many  months ;  the  tresses  of  her  sunny  hair  have  long  ago 
been  scorched  with  fever  and  pain;  the  beautiful  and  brave  young 
Spartan,  rich  in  energy,  in  love,  in  passionate  devotion,  knows  no 
more  the  roses  and  lawns  of  Miramar ;  the  Mediterranean  brings  no 
more  from  over  the  perilous  seas  the  silken  pennon  of  her  fair¬ 
haired  royal  sailor  lover.  It  is  quiet  about  Lacken,  where  the  em¬ 
press  lays  a-dying;  but  Time  will  never  see  such  another  woman 
die  until  the  whole  world  dies. 

It  is  not  much  to  die  in  one’s  own  bed,  peaceful  of  conscience 
and  weary  of  child-bearing.  The  naked  age  is  crowded  thick  with 
little  loves,  and  rose-water  lines,  and  the  pink  and  white  of  the 
bridal  toilettes.  Here  is  a  queen  now  in  extremity,  who  reigned 
in  the  tropics,  and  whose  fate  has  over  it  the  lurid  grandeur  of 
a  volcano.  A  sweet  Catholic  school-girl  she  was  when  the  Aus¬ 
trian  came  a-wooing,  with  a  ship  of  the  line  for  chariot.  She 
played  musical  instruments;  she  had  painted  rare  pictures  of 
Helen,  and  Omphale  in  the  arms  of  Hercules,  and  Jeanne  d’Arc 
with  the  yellow  hair,  and  the  pensive  Roland — her  of  the  Norman 
face — over  whose  black  doom  there  still  flits  a  ruddy  fervor  streaks 
of  bright  Southern  tint,  not  wholly  swallowed  up  of  death.  Yes, 
it  was  a  love-match,  rare  in  king-craft  and  court  cunning.  Old 
4 


50 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Leopold’s  daughter  married  with  the  flags  of  three  nations  wav¬ 
ing  over  her,  amid  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the  broadsides  of  bat¬ 
tleships.  The  sea  gave  its  sapphire  bloom  and  the  skies  their  beni- 
son.  Afar  off  French  eagles  were  seen,  alas !  to  shadow  all  the 
life  of  the  bride  with  the  blood  of  her  husband.  The  nineteenth-cen¬ 
tury  witnessed  the  heroic  spirit  darkened  to  such  a  tragedy.  She  came 
to  Mexico,  bringing  in  her  gentle  hands  two  milk-white  doves,  as 
it  were,  Charity  and  Religion. 

Pure  as  all  women;  stainless  as  an  angel-guarded  child;  proud 
as  Edith  of  the  swan’s  neck;  a  queen  of  hearts  where  honor 
dwelt;  mistress  of  the  realms  of  music;  rare  in  the  embroidery 
she  wove;  having  time  for  literature  and  letters;  sensuous  only 
in  the  melody  of  her  voice;  never  a  mother — it  was  as  though  God 
had  sent  an  angel  of  light  to  redeem  a  barbaric  race  and  sanctify 
a  degraded  people.  How  she  tried  and  how  she  suffered,  let  the 
fever  which  is  burning  her  up  alive  give  answer.  It  is  not  often 
that  the  world  looks  upon  such  a  death-bed.  Yet  in  the  rosy  and 
radiant  toils  of  the  honeymoon,  a  bride  came  to  govern  an  empire 
where  armies  did  her  bidding,  and  French  Marshals,  scarred  at 
Inkermann  and  Solferino,  kissed  with  loyal  lips  her  jeweled  hand 
and  murmured  through  their  gray  moustaches  words  of  soldierly 
truth  and  valor.  She  sate  herself  down  in  the  palace  of  the  Mon- 
tezumas  and  looked  out  amid  the  old  elms  where  Cortez’s  swart 
cavaliers  had  made  love  in  the  moonlight,  their  blades  not  dry 
with  blood  of  the  morning’s  battle;  upon  Chepultepec,  that  had 
seen  the  cold  glitter  of  American  steel  and  the  gleam  of  defiant 
battle  flags ;  upon  the  Alemada  where  Alvarado  took  the  Indian  maid¬ 
en  to  kiss,  who  drove  the  steel  straight  for  his  heart,  and  missed, 
and  found  a  surer  lodgment  in  her  own. 

All  these  were  bridal  gifts  to  the  Austrian’s  bride — the  brown¬ 
eyed,  beautiful  Carlotta.  Noble  white  vision  in  a  land  of  red  har¬ 
lots,  with  soft,  pitying,  queenly  face;  hair  flowing  down  to  girdle, 
and  as  true  a  heart  as  ever  beat  in  woman’s  bosom.  As  a  Grecian 
statue,  serenely  complete,  she  shines  out  in  that  black  wreck  of 
things  a  star. 

It  came  suddenly,  that  death  of  her  lover  and  her  husband.  It 
dared  not  draw  near  when  the  French  eagles  flew,  but  afterward 
what  a  fate  for  one  so  royal  and  so  brave.  God  shielded  the  tried 
heart  from  the  blow  of  his  last  words,  for  they  were  so  tender 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


51 


as  to  carry  a  sorrow  they  could  not  heal.  “Poor  Carlotta!” 
Youth,  health,  reason,  crown,  throne,  empire,  armies,  husband,  all 
gone.  Why  should  the  fates  be  so  pitiless  and  so  unsparing? 

Somewhere  in  eternity  within  some  golden  palace  walls,  where 
old  imperial  banners  float,  and  Launcelots  keep  guard,  and  Ar¬ 
thurs  reign,  and  all  the  patriot  heroes  dwell,  her  Maximilian  is 
waiting  for  his  bride.  Long  ago  that  spotless  soul  has  been  there. 
Let  death  come  quickly  and  take  the  body,  and  end  its  misery  and 
subdue  its  pain.  All  that  is  immortal  of  Carlotta  is  with  her  hus¬ 
band.  The  tragedy  is  nearly  over.  In  an  age  of  iron  and  steam 
and  armies  and  a  world  at  peace,  it  remained  for  a  woman  to  teach 
nations  how  an  empress  loves  and  dies.  Who  shall  dare  to  say 
hereafter  there  is  nothing  in  blood  or  birth?  What  gentle  sister, 
in  the  struggle  and  turmoil  of  life,  will  look  away  from  that  death¬ 
bed  in  Lacken  Castle,  and  not  bless  God  for  being  a  woman  and 
of  the  sex  of  her  who  is  dying  for  her  king  and  her  empire? 
Sleep !  the  angels  have  no  need  of  sleep.  Nothing  suffices  love 
Having  happiness  one  wishes  for  Paradise ;  having  Paradise,  one 
wishes  for  Heaven.  There  is  a  starry  transfiguration  mingled  with 
her  crucifixion.  The  crown  is  almost  hei*s,  and  in  the  beautiful 
garden  of  souls  she  will  find  once  more  the  monarch  of  her  youth. 

Different,  severe,  strong,  and  persuasive,  were  the  edi¬ 
torial  writings  of  Samuel  Bowles,  of  the  Springfield, 
(Mass.)  Republican.  In  this  editorial  he  gives  his  esti¬ 
mate  of  the  New  York  Nation: 

The  Nation  has  become  a  permanent  and  proud  addition  to 
American  journalism.  Often  conceited  and  priggish,  coldly  critical 
to  a  degree  sometimes  amusing,  and  often  provoking;  and  singu¬ 
larly  lacking,  not  only  in  a  generous  enthusiasm  of  its  own,  but 
in  any  sympathy  with  that  great  American  quality,  by  which  alone 
we  as  a  people  are  led  on  to  our  efforts  and  our  triumphs  in  the 
whole  arena  of  progress ;  the  paper  yet  shows  such  vigor  and  in¬ 
tegrity  of  thought,  such  moral  independence  of  party,  such  eleva¬ 
tion  of  tone,  and  such  wide  culture,  as  to  demand  our  great  re 
spect  and  secure  our  hearty  praise.  It  is  the  one  contribution  to 
American  journalism  of  the  last  ten  years;  and  happy  may  the 


52 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


profession  call  itself  if  every  decade  shall  offer  another  gift  so 
positive  and  progressive.  The  Nation  may  not  ever  be  popular  in 
the  common  American  sense;  popular  as  the  New  York  Ledger, 
or  the  Boston  Journal,  or  even  the  New  York  Tribune  is;  as  a 
sort  of  moral  policeman  of  our  society,  our  politics,  and  our  art, 
it  can  hardly  expect  to  be ;  but  it  assuredly  has  been  and  will  be 
most  useful.  In  the  great  necessity  and  duty  of  the  time,  the  re¬ 
formation  of  the  administration  of  our  government,  the  substitu¬ 
tion  of  competence  for  incompetence,  of  integrity  for  corruption, 
it  is  laboring  with  noble  zeal  and  telling  influence,  and  is  worthy 
of  every  patriot’s  praise. 

Upon  “The  Ethics  of  News-Gathering,”  Mr.  Bowles 
wrote  in  1876: 

“We  quite  agree  that  it  is  no  part  of  a  newspaper’s  legiti¬ 
mate  business  to  go  around  digging  for  social  scandals. 
Even  when  scandals  of  this  sort  come  to  its  knowledge  un¬ 
sought,  it  is  not  necessarily  either  its  duty  or  its  right  to 
spread  them  before  the  public.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Republican  suppresses  half  a  dozen  such  scandalous  stories 
where  it  prints  one;  and  the  same  is  true  of  every  other 
respectable  newspaper  in  the  country.”  It  is  impossible, 
it  continues,  to  lay  down  an  absolute  rule ;  but,  “no  news¬ 
paper  has  the  right  to  print  scandal — by  which  we  here  mean 
a  true  statement  of  facts  from  which  private  reputations  will 
suffer — for  scandal’s  sake,  to  make  the  columns  ‘spicy’  or  to 
gratify  private  malice  whether  in  or  out  of  the  office.” 
Such  publication,  it  says,  is  justifiable,  first,  when  the  offense 
is  public  and  flagrant,  the  common  talk ;  it  is  then  a  part  of 
the  news  of  the  day,  and  as  such  the  newspaper  must  give 
it.  Or,  again,  the  interest  of  public  morals  may  require 
publicity.  “The  public  journal  is  bound  to  take  care,  as 
far  as  it  is  can,  that  the  public  interest  sustains  no  detri¬ 
ment.  This  duty  is  not  less  obligatory  than  the  other  of 
printing  the  news.”  And  further,  the  newspaper  is  morally 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


53 


bound  to  extreme  care  that  its  facts  be  facts.  It  is  obliged 
to  accept  news  at  second-hand  from  other  respectable  papers; 
but  its  original  news  must  be  fully  substantiated  before  pub¬ 
lication.  As  to  matters  of  scandal  it  must  not  even  rely  on 
the  allegations  of  its  own  correspondents ;  “the  evidence 
should  be  in  the  office  before  the  charge  goes  into  the  paper” 
— and  this,  adds  the  Republican,  is  now  the  rule  and  prac¬ 
tice  of  the  leading  newspapers  in  the  country. 

A  characteristic  piece  of  Mr.  Bowles’  editorial  work, 
showing  his  marked  editorial  style,  was  his  obituary  of 
General  William  F.  Bartlett,  December  18,  1876.  It  was 
written,  as  the  best  editorial  work  must  often  be  written, 
at  high  pressure,  with  no  moments  to  spare: 

The  Massachusetts  of  this  generation  has  bred  no  so  heroic  a 
character  as  that  of  the  man  whom  she  will  bury,  with  sadness  and 
with  honor,  in  Berkshire  this  week.  He  left  Harvard  College  to 
enlist  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  and  served  till  the  end.  He 
was  wounded  many  times,  lost  a  leg,  endured  extreme  hardships 
in  Southern  prisons,  and  was  a  sufferer  from  his  injuries  during 
all  his  remaining  years.  His  later  life  was  spent  in  private  busi¬ 
ness.  With  no  ambition  and  no  pretense  as  an  orator  or  public 
leader,  hardly  any  man  in  these  last  three  years  has  oftener  or 
better  said  the  timely  word,  and  turned  men’s  thoughts  from  party 
passion  and  personal  advantage  in  politics  to  higher  things  both 
in  thought  and  effort.  His  eloquence  was  the  eloquence  of  simplic¬ 
ity,  earnestness,  and  brevity.  His  speeches,  at  the  dedication  of 
Harvard  Memorial  Hall,  at  the  Lexington  Centennial,  and  on 
other  occasions,  all  bore  one  spirit,  they  all  sought  one  end — that 
of  burial  of  the  conflicts  of  the  war  in  a  common  national  feel¬ 
ing.  At  Lexington  he  said :  “Men  cannot  always  choose  the  right 
course;  but  when,  having  chosen  that  which  conscience  dictates, 
they  are  ready  to  die  for  it,  if  they  justify  not  their  cause,  they 
at  least  ennoble  themselves ;  and  the  men  who  for  conscience’s 
sake  fought  against  thrir  government  at  Gettysburg  ought  easily 
to  be  forgiven  by  the  sens  of  men  who  for  conscience’s  sake  fought 
against  their  government  at  Bunker  Hill.”  He  held  himself  aloof 


54 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


from  party  bonds,  and  parties  competed  for  the  honor  of  his  name. 
This  is  the  outline  of  a  life  so  far  as  it  appeared  to  the  public.  But 
it  was  as  noble  and  heroic  in  private,  and  the  sweetness  that  goes 
with  all  true  nobility  and  heroism  was  as  divine  a  characteristic 
of  General  Bartlett’s  nature.  He  faced  the  slow,  sure  approach 
of  death  as  bravely  and  as  calmly  as  he  moved  to  the  front  in 
battle,  or  denounced  a  mean  thought  or  unworthy  action  in  public 
or  private  life.  We  talk  with  a  glow  of  Chevalier  Bayard  and 
Sir  Philip  Sidney ;  but  here,  in  Frank  Bartlett,  was  all  they  were 
and  more — what  they  could  not  be,  because  the  standards  of  the 
age  did  not  suggest  it  all.  A  republic  based  on  the  equality  of 
men,  and  a  society  that  recognizes  woman  not  simply  as  an  ob¬ 
ject  of  gallantry,  but  the  companion-leader  of  all  life,  give  a  finer 
quality  and  a  more  even  edge  to  our  Bayards  and  our  Sidneys. 

General  Bartlett’s  fortune  was  his  character,  his  family, 
and  his  friends.  The  one  is  clear  and  unspotted ;  the  next,  a 
beautiful  wife  and  five  young  children — the  youngest  of  whom,  a 
babe,  was  baptized,  as  it  were,  in  his  dying  arms,  but  a  few  days 
ago,  while  he  partook  of  the  last  sacrament,  and  himself  sang 
the  sacramental  hymn  with  a  voice  as  clear  and  ringing  as  that 
with  which  he  ever  called  his  soldiers  to  battle;  and  his  friends 
include  everybody  who  ever  knew  him. 

Henry  W.  Grady,  in  “A  Perfect  Christmas  Day,”  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Atlanta  Constitution,  fits  the  coloring  to  the 
editorial  topic : 

No  man  or  woman  now  living  will  see  again  such  a  Christmas 
day  as  the  one  which  closed  yesterday,  when  the  dying  sun  piled 
the  western  skies  with  gold  and  purple. 

A  winter  day  it  was,  shot  to  the  core  with  sunshine.  It  was 
enchanting  to  walk  abroad  in  its  prodigal  beauty,  to  breathe  its 
elixir,  to  reach  out  the  hands  and  plunge  them  open-fingered 
through  its  pulsing  waves  of  warmth  and  freshness.  It  was  June 
and  November  welded  and  fused  into  a  perfect  glory  that  held 
the  sunshine  and  snow  beneath  tender  and  splendid  skies.  To 
have  winnowed  such  a  day  from  this  teeming  winter  was  to  have 
found  an  odorous  peach  on  a  bough  whipped  in  the  storms  of  win¬ 
ter.  One  caught  the  musk  of  yellow  grain,  the  flavor  of  ripening 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


55 


nuts,  the  fragrance  of  strawberries,  the  exquisite  odor  of  violets, 
the  aroma  of  all  seasons  in  the  wonderful  day.  The  hum  of  bees 
underrode  the  whistling  wings  of  wild  geese  flying  southward. 
The  fires  slept  in  drowsing  grates,  while  the  people,  marveling 
outdoors,  watched  the  soft  winds  woo  the  roses  and  the  lilies. 

Truly  it  was  a  day  of  days.  Amid  its  riotous  luxury  surely  life 
was  worth  living  to  hold  up  the  head  and  breathe  it  in  as  thirst¬ 
ing  men  drink  water;  to  put  every  sense  on  its  gracious  excellence; 
to  throw  the  hands  wide  apart  and  hug  whole  armfuls  of  the  day 
close  to  the  heart,  till  the  heart  itself  is  enraptured  and  illumined. 
God’s  benediction  came  down  with  the  day,  slow  dropping  from 
the  skies.  God’s  smile  was  its  light,  and  all  through  and  through 
its  supernal  beauty  and  stillness,  unspoken  but  appealing  to  every 
heart  and  sanctifying  every  soul,  was  His  invocation  and  promise, 
“Peace,  on  earth,  good  will  to  men.” 

The  Philadelphia  Press  published  an  appreciative  review 
of  the  life  of  Henry  W.  Grady,  which  illustrates  another 
editorial  type : 

Few  men  die  at  thirty-eight  whose  departure  is  felt  as  a  national 
loss,  but  Henry  W.  Grady  was  one.  At  an  age  when  most  men 
are  just  beginning  to  be  known  in  their  own  states  and  to  be  recog¬ 
nized  in  their  own  section,  he  was  known  to  the  nation  and  recog¬ 
nized  by  the  American  people.  At  the  South  he  represented  the 
new  pride  in  the  material  revival  of  a  section  desolated  by  the  war. 
At  the  North  he  stood  for  loyal  and  enthusiastic  support  by  the 
South  of  the  new  claims  of  the  Union.  His  every  appearance  be¬ 
fore  the  public  was  the  one  more  proof  to  the  nation  that  the 
sons  of  those  who  fought  the  war  were  again  one  people  and  un¬ 
der  one  flag,  cherishing  different  memories  in  the  past,  but  pressing 
forward  to  the  same  lofty  ideal  of  a  homogeneous  democratic 
society  under  republican  institutions. 

If  Henry  W.  Grady  spoke  at  the  North  he  spoke  for  the  South; 
if  he  spoke  at  the  South  he  stood  for  Northern  ideas  in  his  own 
land.  It  was  none  the  less  true  in  both  attitudes  that  his  utter¬ 
ances  were  insensibly  modified  by  his  audiences.  Eloquent,  mag¬ 
netic,  impressionable,  sharing  to  the  full  the  sympathy  every  great 
speaker  always  has  with  his  audience,  his  sentiment  swung  from 


56 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


extreme  to  extreme  as  he  stood  on  Northern  or  Southern  plat¬ 
form.  It  was  always  easy  to  pick  flaws  in  them.  Now  and  then 
his  rhetorical  sympathies  placed  him  in  a  false  position.  But  it 
was  the  inevitable  condition  of  a  work  like  his  that  he  should  ex¬ 
press  extremes.  If  he  had  not  felt  and  voiced  the  pride  with  which 
every  Southerner  must  and  should  look  back  to  the  deathless  valor 
of  men  we  all  rejoice  to  claim  as  Americans,  he  would  have  been 
worthless  as  a  representative  of  the  South.  If  he  had  not 
thrilled  earlier  than  his  fellows  to  the  splendid  national  heritage 
which  defeat  had  dowered  his  people,  he  could  never  have  awak¬ 
ened  the  applause  of  the  Northern  audiences  by  expressions  of 
loyalty  and  devotion  to  our  common  nation. 

This  service  to  both  sections  sprang  from  something  more  than 
sympathy.  A  moral  courage  Northern  men  can  little  understand 
was  needed  for  him  to  oppose  Southern  treatment  of  the  negro. 
Energy  and  industry,  unknown  among  his  fellows,  were  needed 
in  the  leadership  he  undertook  in  the  material  development  of  his 
State  and  section.  It  is  easy  now  to  see  the  enormous  profit  which 
lay  in  the  material  development  of  Georgia.  Far-sighted  provi¬ 
sion  was  needed  to  urge  the  policy  and  aid  the  combination  which 
made  it  possible  ten  years  ago. 

No  one  but  a  journalist,  we  are  proud  to  say,  could  have  done 
Mr.  Grady’s  work,  and  he  brought  to  the  work  of  journalism  some 
of  its  highest  qualifications.  Ability  as  a  writer,  keen  appreciation 
of  “news,”  and  tireless  industry,  which  he  had,  must  all  be  held 
second  to  the  power  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  of  defining 
the  drift  and  tendency  of  public  feeling,  being  neither  too  early 
to  lead  it  nor  too  late  to  control  it.  This  divination  Mr.  Grady 
was  daily  displaying  and  he  never  made  better  use  of  it  than  in 
his  last  speech  in  Boston,  the  best  of  his  life,  in  which  he  rose 
from  mere  rhetoric  to  a  clear,  earnest  and  convincing  handling  of 
facts.  A  great  future  was  before  him,  all  too  soon  cut  off.  He 
leaves  to  all  journalists  the  inspiring  example  of  the  great  oppor¬ 
tunities  which  their  profession  offers  to  serve  the  progress  of  men 
and  aid  the  advance  of  nations,  by  speaking  to  the  present  of  the 
bright  and  radiant  light  of  the  future,  and  rising  above  the  claims 
of  party  and  the  prejudice  of  locality  to  advocate  the  higher  claims 
of  partriotism  and  humanity. 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


57 


The  editorial  articles  of  the  New  York  Sun,  under  the 
influence  of  Charles  A.  Dana,  have  had  a  scintillant  style, 
a  bright  humor  and  wit  that  adds  to  their  charm.  One 
upon  “Is  There  a  Santa  Claus  ?”  has  been  republished  in  the 
press  probably  oftener  than  any  other  editorial : 

We  take  pleasure  in  answering  at  once  and  thus  prominently 
the  communication  below,  expressing  at  the  same  time  our  great 
gratification  that  its  faithful  author  is  numbered  among  the  friends 
of  The  Sun : 

“Dear  Editor :  I  am  eight  years  old.  Some  of  my  little  friends 
say  there  is  no  Santa  Claus.  Papa  says,  ‘if  you  see  it  in  the  The  Sun 
it’s  so.’  Please  tell  me  the  truth;  is  there  a  Santa  Claus? 

“VIRGINIA  O’HANLON. 

“115  West  Ninety-fifth  Street.” 

/ 


Virginia,  your  little  friends  are  wrong.  They  have  been  affected 
by  the  skepticism  of  a  skeptical  age.  They  do  not  believe  except 
they  see.  They  think  that  nothing  can  be  which  is  not  compre¬ 
hensible  by  their  little  minds.  All  minds,  Virginia,  whether  they 
be  men’s  or  children’s,  are  little.  In  this  great  universe  of  ours 
man  is  a  mere  insect,  an  ant,  in  his  intellect,  as  compared  with  the 
boundless  world  about  him,  as  measured  by  the  intelligence  capable 
of  grasping  the  whole  of  truth  and  knowledge. 

Yes,  Virginia,  there  is  a  Santa  Claus.  He  exists  as  certainly 
as  love  and  generosity  and  devotion  exist,  and  you  know  that  they 
abound  and  give  to  our  life  its  highest  beauty  and  joy.  Alas! 
how  dreary  would  be  the  world  if  there  were  no  Santa  Claus.  It 
would  be  as  dreary  as  if  there  were  no  Virginias.  There  would 
be  no  childlike  faith  then,  no  poetry,  no  romance,  to  make  toler¬ 
able  this  existence.  We  should  have  no  enjoyment,  except  in  sense 
and  sight.  The  eternal  light  with  which  childhood  fills  the  world 
would  be  extinguished. 

Not  believe  in  Santa  Claus!  You  might  as  well  not  believe  in 
fairies !  You  might  get  your  papa  to  hire  men  to  watch  in  all  the 
chimneys  on  Christmas  Eve  to  catch  Santa  Claus,  but  even  if  they 
did  not  see  Santa  Claus  coming  down,  what  would  that  prove? 


58 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Nobody  sees  Santa  Claus,  but  that  is  no  sign  that  there  is  no  Santa 
Claus.  The  most  real  things  in  the  world  are  those  that  neither 
children  nor  men  can  see.  Did  you  ever  see  fairies  dancing  on  the 
lawn?  Of  course  not,  but  that’s  no  proof  that  they  are  not  there. 
Nobody  can  conceive  or  imagine  all  the  wonders  there  are  unseen 
and  unseeable  in  the  world. 

You  may  tear  apart  the  baby’s  rattle  and  see  what  makes  the 
noise,  inside,  but  there  is  a  veil  covering  the  unseen  world  which  not 
the  strongest  man,  nor  even  the  united  strength  of  all  the  strongest 
men  that  ever  lived,  could  tear  apart.  Only  faith,  poetry,  love, 
romance,  can  push  aside  that  curtain  and  view  and  picture  the 
supernal  beauty  and  glory  beyond.  Is  it  all  real?  Ah,  Virginia, 
in  all  this  world  there  is  nothing  else  real  and  abiding. 

No  Santa  Claus!  Thank  God!  he  lives,  and  he  lives  forever. 
A  thousand  years  from  now,  Virginia,  nay  ten  times  ten  thousand 
years  from  now,  he  will  continue  to'  make  glad  the  heart  of  child¬ 
hood. 

Other  editorials  from  the  New  York  Sun  show,  for 
purposes  of  study,  what  in  newspaper  offices  is  often  refer¬ 
red  to  as  the  Sun  style: 


A  HERO  OF  OTHER  DAYS. 

We  are  of  a  forgetful  generation.  We  cannot  keep  in  our 
memory  the  name  of  one  in  a  hundred,  or  even  one  in  a  thous¬ 
and,  of  the  marked  characters  of  our  age. 

The  two  foregoing  sentences  have  been  written  within  view  of 
a  Texas  paper,  which  tells  of  the  transfer  to  the  new  owner  of 
the  saddle  which,  over  fifty  years  ago,  belonged  to  the  once  famous 
warrior,  Santa  Anna,  and  which  was  captured  by  his  proud  young 
American  foeman,  after  he  had  unhorsed  him  in  battle. 

As  we  read  about  the  lion-headed  saddle  in  the  Texas  paper, 
we  had  this  thought:  How  many  of  the  boys  of  to-day  could  tell 
us  all  about  Santa  Anna,  that  fierce  Mexican  revolutionist,  dicta¬ 
tor,  generalissimo,  castle-stormer,  serene  highness,  conspirator, 
abdicator,  and  exile,  of  whose  hoitytoity  career  our  grandsires 
used  to  tell  stories  in  the  years  of  the  war  for  the  liberation  of 
Texas?  How  many  of  the  boys  can  tell  us  about  his  feat  of  arms 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


59 


against  the  Emperor  Iturbide,  and  afterward  against  the  Spanish 
invaders,  and  subsequently  against  Bustamente  and  Guerrero,  and 
next  against  Col.  David  Crockett  and  Col.  Bowie  (of  the  knife) 
and  Col.  Travis,  and  finally  against  Gen.  Taylor  and  Gen.  Win¬ 
field  Scott,  and  onward  to  the  time  of  the  second  Mexican  empire? 
How  many  can  tell  even  about  his  wooden  leg,  not  to  speak  of 
his  ups  and  downs? 

Santa  Anna  was  one  of  the  extraordinary  men  of  the  century, 
about  whom  Americans  had  occasion  to  know  a  lot  during  the 
twenty  years  after  1836;  but  we  guess  that  the  Americans  of  this 
generation  have  pretty  nearly  forgotten  him.  The  boys  ought  to 
ask  their  grandfathers  about  him,  if  their  grandfathers  were 
born  in  the  United  States. 

As  for  his  war  saddle,  which  has  just  been  transferred  to  a  new 
owner,  it  is  heavily  mounted  in  gold ;  it  is  gorgeously  embroidered ; 
it  has  a  high  horn,  bearing  a  lion  with  silver  eyes ;  its  trappings 
are  rich  and  heavy ;  it  was  captured  by  Sam  Houston  in  a  horse¬ 
back  combat,  while  the  bullets  flew  thick  and  fast  around. 

The  Mexican  War  was  the  most  romantic  of  all  the  wars  in 
which  our  country  has  been  involved.  What  we  especially  desire 
to  say  here  upon  this  occasion  is,  that  American  boys  should  study 
history. 


HAIRPINS. 

The  comprehensive  merits  of  the  hairpin  are  known  to  all  ob¬ 
servant  men.  Its  special  value  in  surgery  is  asserted  by  a  writer 
in  American  Medicine.  It  seems  that  a  surgeon  can  do  almost  any¬ 
thing  with  a  hairpin.  He  can  wire  bones  with  it,  probe  and  close 
wounds,  pin  bandages,  compress  blood  vessels,  use  it  to  remove 
foreign  bodies  from  any  natural  passage,  and  as  a  curette  for 
scraping  away  soft  material.  And  no  doubt  the  women  doctors 
can  do  a  great  deal  more  with  that  most  gifted  and  versatile  of 
human  implements.  Anthropologists  have  never  done  justice  to 
the  hairpin.  It  keeps  civilization  together.  In  the  hands  of  girls 
entirely  great  it  is  much  mightier  than  the  sword  or,  for  that  mat¬ 
ter,  the  plough.  What  is  the  plough  but  a  development  of  the 
forked  stick,  and  what  is  the  forked  stick  but  a  modification  of 
the  hairpin?  If  there  was  any  necessity,  a  woman  could  scratch 


60 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  ground  successfully  now.  In  fact,  there  is  no  work  or  play 
in  which  something  may  not  be  accomplished  by  means  of  it. 

Dullards  will  tell  you  that  women  aren’t  so  inventive  as  men, 
don’t  take  out  so  many  patents.  They  don’t  have  to.  With  the 
hairpin  all  that  is  doable  can  be  done.  With  a  hairpin  a  woman 
can  pick  a  lock,  pull  a  cork,  peel  an  apple,  draw  out  a  nail,  beat  an 
egg,  see  if  a  joint  of  meat  is  done,  do  up  a  baby,  sharpen  a  pencil, 
dig  out  a  sliver,  fasten  a  door,  hang  up  a  plate  or  picture,  open 
a  can,  take  up  a  carpet,  repair  a  baby  carriage,  clean  a  lamp  chimney, 
put  up  a  curtain,  rake  a  grate  fire,  cut  a  pie,  make  a  fork,  a  fish¬ 
hook,  an  awl,  a  gimlet,  or  a  chisel,  a  paper-cutter,  a  clothespin,  reg¬ 
ulate  a  range,  tinker  a  sewing-machine,  stop  a  leak  in  the  roof, 
turn  over  a  flapjack,  caulk  a  hole  in  a  pair  of  trousers,  stir  batter, 
whip  cream,  reduce  the  pressure  in  the  gas  meter,  keep  bills  and 
receipts  on  file,  tighten  windows,  clean  a  watch,  untie  a  knot,  var¬ 
nish  floors,  do  practical  plumbing,  reduce  the  asthma  of  tobacco 
pipes,  pry  shirt  studs  into  buttonholes  too  small  for  them,  fix  a 
horse’s  harness,  restore  damaged  mechanical  toys,  wrestle  with 
refractory  beer  stoppers,  improvise  suspenders,  shovel  bonbons, 
inspect  gas  burners,  saw  cake,  jab  tramps,  produce  artifical  buttons, 
hooks  and  eyes,  sew,  knit,  and  darn,  button  gloves  and  shoes,  put 
up  awnings,  doctor  an  automobile.  In  short,  she  can  do  what  she 
wants  to ;  she  needs  no  other  instrument. 

If  a  woman  went  into  the  Robinson  Crusoe  line  she  would  build 
a  hut  and  make  her  a  coat  of  the  skin  of  a  goat  by  mes  ns  of  the 
hairpin.  She  will  revolutionize  surgery  with  it  in  time.  Meanwhile 
the  male  chirurgeons  are  doing  the  best  they  can;  but  it  is  not  to 
be  believed  that  they  have  mastered  the  full  mystery  of  the  hairpin. 


AN  INVITATION  DECLINED. 

Once  again  our  friends  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  the  indefatigable  re¬ 
formers  of  spelling,  come  around  with  an  invitation  and  an  appeal 
to  us  to  join  the  noble  band  of  those  who  are  pledged  on  their  honor 
to  mutilate  the  English  language. 

As  in  the  case  with  Prof.  Molee’s  more  ambitious  project  of  ling¬ 
uistic  reform,  the  Funk  and  Wagnalls  scheme  contemplated  progress 
by  successive  steps,  and  it  is  only  Rule  1  to  which  we  are  at  present 
asked  to  subscribe.  This  is  very  simple: 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


61 


“Change  final  ed  to  t  when  so  pronounced;  and,  if  a  double  con¬ 
sonant  precedes,  drop  one  of  the  consonants.” 

Under  this  rule,  words  like  wished,  dismissed,  fixed,  inked,  and 
hopped,  become,  respectively,  wisht,  dismist,  fixt,  inkt,  and  hopt. 
There  are  a  few  exceptions  to  be  observed,  and  these  will  be  much 
harder  to  remember  than  the  rule  itself.  A  printed  list  furnished 
by  our  friends  shows  that  nearly  five  hundred  words  of  this  class 
are  affected  by  Rule  1.  We  cannot  see  that  any  considerable  sav¬ 
ing  of  time  would  result  from  the  observance  of  this  rule,  and  sup¬ 
pose  that  it  is  only  a  starter,  by  means  of  which  it  is  hoped  (not 
hopt)  to  toll  on  the  subscribers  to  further  enormities. 

The  pledge  now  for  the  second  time  presented  to  us  to  sign  is 
conditional  upon  the  adoption  of  Rule  1  by  “three  hundred  editors, 
authors,  teachers,  or  prominent  business  men.”  It  appears  that  after 
ten  months  of  effort  the  promoters  of  reform  have  secured  the  sig¬ 
natures  of  only  209  persons  of  the  sort  described. 

Let  us  see  how  the  system  would  work.  Take  this  passage: 

“He  pressed  her  to  his  bosom  and  asked  her  to  be  his  bride. 
Without  a  word  she  suddenly  bussed  him  on  the  mouth.” 

We  can  never  consent  to  reform  which  would  make  this  read : 

“He  prest  her  to  his  bosom  and  askt  her  to  be  his  bride.  With¬ 
out  a  word  she  suddenly  bust  him  on  the  mouth.” 

We  must  again  decline. 


WOMAN. 

“What  is  woman  for?”  So  asked  Dr.  L.  F.  Bryson  at  the  an¬ 
nual  meeting  of  the  American  Social  Science  Association  at  Sara¬ 
toga  on  August  30,  1892. 

She  is  for  soul,  for  thought,  for  love,  for  bewitchment,  for  ro¬ 
mance,  for  beauty,  and  for  man.  She  is  for  this  world  and  for  other 
worlds.  She  is  for  all  time  and  after  time.  She  is  for  memory  and 
for  hope.  She  is  for  dreams  beauteous.  She  is  for  poetry  and  art. 
She  is  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  human  imagination.  She  is  for  the 
household  and  her  mate.  She  is  for  everything  that  is  worth  any¬ 
thing.  She  is  for  life.  She  is  for  faith.  She  is  for  earth  and 
heaven.  She  is  for  summer  and  for  winter.  She  is  for  the  glory 
of  the  world,  which  would  be  intolerable  without  her.  She  is  for 
all  delicacy  and  daintiness.  She  is  for  youth,  for  middle  age,  for 


62 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


old  age.  She  is  for  the  merry-hearted  and  for  the  weary-footed. 
She  is  for  light.  She  is  the  crown  of  creation,  the  consummate 
masterpiece  of  nature.  It  was  Roberts  Burns  who,  in  an  hour  of 
ecstasy  sang: 


“Auld  nature  swears,  the  lovely  dears 
Her  noblest  work  she  classes,  O: 

Her  ‘prentice  han’  she  tried  on  man. 

And  then  she  made  the  lasses,  O !” 

“What  is  woman  for?”  cries  Dr.  Bryson,  while  standing  up  be¬ 
fore  the  American  Social  Science  Association.  She  is  not  for 
analysis  by  the  chemical  methods  of  that  body.  She  is  not  for  the 
monoculous  inspection  of  a  lot  of  delegates  assembled  in  conven¬ 
tion.  She  is  not  for  the  gratification  of  social  curiosity.  She  is 
not  for  science  alone.  Oh,  no,  no !  She  is  for  those  only  who  sur¬ 
render  their  souls  wholly  to  her  magic  and  throw  themselves  un¬ 
reservedly  at  her  feet. 

As  an  example  of  the  moral-homily-editorial,  found  in 
the  Sunday  newspaper,  is  quoted  this  article  by  John 
Temple  Graves  in  the  Atlanta  News: 

THE  ARISTOCRACY  OF  BRAINS  AND  CHARACTER. 

When  these  poor  butterflies  have  shed  their  gilded  wings  and  are 
forgotten  as  worms,  or  the  food  of  worms,  the  world  will  continue 
to  bow  in  reverence  and  honor  to  the  nobler  souls  who  have  refused 
to  be 'swerved  by  pomp  and  luxury  from  the  ideals  of  a  success 
which  is  unrelated  to  money.  It  will  remember  Agassiz,  who  re¬ 
fused  to  lecture  at  five  hundred  a  night  because  he  was  “too  busy 
to  make  money.”  It  will  remember  Charles  Sumner,  who  would 
not  lecture  at  any  price  because,  “as  senator,  all  his  time  belonged  to 
Massachusetts.”  It  will  remember  Charles  Spurgeon,  who  was  in¬ 
vited  to  come  to  America  for  fifty  lectures  at  one  thousand  dollars, 
each,  but  said  in  answer:  “No,  I  will  do  better,  I  will  stay  in  Lon¬ 
don  and  try  to  save  fifty  souls.”  It  will  remember  Emerson,  who 
steadfastly  declined  to  increase  his  income  beyond  twelve  hundred 
dollars,  “because  he  wanted  time  to  think.” 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


63 


And  not  only  in  time  past,  but  in  the  living  present  there  are 
brave,  strong  men  who  are  making  history  and  building  honor  upon 
a  better  base  than  money.  Who  is  the  most  distinguished  figure 
in  the  American  senate  today?  Not  Clark,  of  Montana,  with  his 
piling  millions,  nor  Stewart,  of  Nevada,  but  George  Frisbie  Hoar, 
serene  and  noble  idealist  of  Massachusetts,  who  lives  in  a  cottage  at 
Worcester  on  three  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  does  not  even  keep 
a  carriage.  What  noisy  nabob  has  such  genuine  distinction  as  old 
Joe  Wheeler,  patrician  of  Alabama,  hero  of  two  republics  and 
gentleman  of  honor,  living  on  his  pension  and  loyal  to  his  ideals? 

And  there  is  William  D.  Howells,  whose  standards,  nobly  and 
unselfishly  maintained,  have  won  him  fame  and  later  fortune.  And 
St.  Gaudens,  the  sculptor,  working  with  a  faith  unspoiled  by  money, 
carving  calmly  for  the  approval  of  the  coming  centuries.  And 
Elihu  Vedder,  in  plain  lodgings  in  Rome,  laughing  to  scorn  the 
American  money  that  would  tempt  him  from  his  beloved  art  to 
garish  and  profitable  advertisement.  And  Thomas  Edison,  who 
would  scorn  to  be  ranked  for  the  millions  which  he  spends  fear¬ 
lessly  and  unsparingly  for  other  inventions  and  discoveries  for  the 
advancement  of  the  race.  And  President  Eliot  of  Harvard,  and 
President  Harper  of  Chicago,  and  Butler  of  Columbia,  each  with 
superb  administrative  talents  that  might  win  millions  in  the  mart, 
living  on  moderate  incomes  to  the  great  end  of  service  and  achieve¬ 
ment  in  the  lives  of  the  republic’s  youth.  And  there  is  Dr.  Rains- 
ford,  the  New  York  clergyman,  who  might  have  been  not  only  a 
captain,  but  a  general  of  industry,  holding  without  wealth,  a  per¬ 
sonal  power  over  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  world,  with 
Pierpont  Morgan  and  Mayor  McClellan  passing  the  plate  in  his 
church,  and  living  the  splendid  ideals  which  he  eloquently  preaches. 
And  Mansfield  and  Irving,  be  it  said  to  their  infinite  credit,  might 
have  been  vastly  rich  today  if  they  had  not  heroically  poured  their 
earnings  upon  the  altar  of  a  higher  art  and  a  better  stage.  Who 
can  doubt  that  Theodore  Roosevelt,  if  he  had  lowered  himself  to 
gain,  might  have  amassed  enormous  wealth?  Yet  he  has  so  stub¬ 
bornly  followed  another  and  a  nobler  ideal  of  success  that  his  pri¬ 
vate  fortune  today  is  less  than  eight  thousand  dollars.  And  Wil¬ 
liam  Traverse  Jerome,  whose  daily  opportunities  have  been  one 
continuous  invitation  to  be  rich,  but  who  has  bravely  chosen  to 
be  a  clean  and  brave  and  honest  reformer  at  the  expense  of  fortune. 


64 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Let  no  man  think  that  these  lines  depreciate  money  nor  the  in¬ 
dependence  and  liberty  which  come  from  easy  means. 

But  let  no  youth  of  these  striving  times  imagine  that  money  alone 
brings  permanent  honor  or  enduring  happiness. 

If  the  modern  aristocracy  of  wealth  refuses  social  recognition 
to  the  really  great,  unless  the  great  be  also  rich,  be  sure  there  is 
a  nobler  aristocracy  of  brain  and  character  without  blazonry  which 
despises  the  foolish  standards  of  the  poorly  rich. 

There  is  a  mighty  cloud  of  witnesses  that  the  nobler  idealism  is 
not  dead  in  this  republic  of  the  free. 

The  vigorous,  blunt  style  of  James  Gordon  Bennett, 
founder  of  the  New  York  Herald,  is  shown  in  these  edi¬ 
torials  : 

These  new  philosophers,  who  arrogate  to  themselves  superior 
intelligence  and  fuller  conceptions  of  truth,  and  discover  such  ex¬ 
cessive  fretfulness  and  bad  temper,  whenever  the  tendency  of  their 
doctrines  is  pointed  out,  no  doubt  mean  well.  We  are  willing  to 
admit  that  they  desire  to  see  virtue  prevailing  and  vice  driven  away 
abashed  from  society.  They  wish  well  to  humanity  but  all  their 
absurd  theories,  all  their  erroneous  reasonings,  all  their  disorganiz¬ 
ing  schemes,  are  the  result  of  an  entirely  mistaken  view  of  human 
nature  and  human  society. 

They  are  eternally  declaiming  about  the  universal  misery  and 
crime  which  exist  on  all  hands.  Everything  is  wrong  in  their  eyes. 
Everybody  is  suffering.  The  world  is  in  their  eyes  one  vast  lazar- 
house.  Now,  all  the  misery,  and  suffering,  and  corruption,  exists 
only  in  their  own  diseased  imaginations.  They  regard  everything 
with  a  jaundiced  eye.  Their  own  feelings  are  morbid.  They  are 
oppressed  with  a  moral  nightmare.  They  can  only  see  the  dark 
side  of  the  picture.  Like  the  owl  in  the  ruined  tower,  who,  droop¬ 
ing  his  fringed  eyelids,  hoots  at  the  morning  sunshine,  they  refuse 
to  come  out  into  the  open  day,  and  wrapped  in  darkness,  call  out 
when  told  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens  is  it? 

But  the  world  of  these  gloomy  enthusiasts  has  no  existence  in 
reality.  The  great  mass  of  mankind,  living  in  civilized  society, 
are  happy.  The  suffering  and  misery  are  only  exceptions  to  the 
general  condition.  The  world  is  an  excellent  world.  It  is  a  happy 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


65 


world.  It  is  clothed  with  beauty.  The  sky  is  beautiful.  The  moun¬ 
tains  and  the  vales  are  beautiful.  The  woods  and  winding  rivers 
are  beautiful.  The  trees  are  beautiful.  The  mute  creation  is  beauti¬ 
ful  and  happy.  Man  is  happy.  From  universal  nature  there  is  con¬ 
stantly  ascending  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Great  Creator.  The  hills 
resounded  with  gladness,  and  the  fertile  plains  break  forth  into 
singing.  The  great  heart  of  human  nature,  too,  pulsates  with  happi¬ 
ness.  It  is  true,  vice,  and  misery,  and  suffering  are  to  be  met  with 
in  society — but  why? 

Not  because  the  organization  of  society  is  radically  wrong,  but 
because  the  laws  of  society  are  violated.  The  system  of  Christian 
civilization  and  Christian  society  and  morals,  given  to  the  world 
by  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  is  perfect.  It  is  entirely  adapted  to  the  con¬ 
dition  of  humanity.  Adherence  to  it  must  necessarily  make  man 
happy  on  earth ;  and  when  these  new  philosophers  offer  us  their 
system  in  exchange — a  system  founded  on  gloomy,  distorted,  and 
morbid  views  of  human  nature — they  act  like  the  wicked  man  in 
the  Scripture,  who,  when  asked  for  bread,  would  give  the  starving 
applicant  a  stone. 


The  telegraph  may  not  affect  magazine  literature,  or  those  news¬ 
papers  which  have  some  peculiar  characteristic;  but  the  mere 
newspapers — the  circulators  of  intelligence  merely — must  submit 
to  destiny,  and  go  out  of  existence.  That  Journalism,  however, 
which  possesses  intellect,  mind,  and  originality,  will  not  suffer. 
Its  sphere  of  action  will  be  widened.  It  will  be  more  influential 
than  ever.  The  public  mind  will  be  stimulated  to  greater  activity 
by  the  rapid  circulation  of  news.  The  swift  communication  of  tid¬ 
ings  of  great  events,  will  awake  in  the  masses  of  the  community 
still  keener  interest  in  public  affairs.  Thus  the  intellectual,  philo¬ 
sophic,  and  original  journalist  will  have  a  greater,  a  more  excited, 
and  more  thoughtful  audience  than  ever. 

The  revolutions  and  changes  which  this  instrumentality  is  des¬ 
tined  to  effect  throughout  society,  cannot  now  at  all  be  realized. 
Speculation  itself,  in  the  very  wildness  of  its  conjectures,  may  fall 
short  of  the  mighty  results  that  are  thus  to  be  produced.  One  thing, 
however,  is  certain.  This  means  of  communication  will  have  a 
prodigious,  cohesive,  and  conservative  influence  on  the  republic. 
No  better  bond  of  union  for  a  great  confederacy  of  states  could 
5 


66 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


have  been  devised.  Steam  has  been  regarded,  and  very  properly  so, 
as  a  most  powerful  means  of  preserving  the  unity,  and  augmenting 
the  strength  of  a  great  nation,  by  securing  a  rapid  intercommuni¬ 
cation  between  the  different  cities  and  communities ;  but  the  agency 
of  steam  is  far  inferior  in  this  respect  to  the  Magnetic  Telegraph, 
which  communicates  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  from  one  point 
to  another.  The  whole  nation  is  impressed  with  the  same  idea  at 
the  same  moment.  One  feeling  and  one  impulse  are  thus  created 
and  maintained  from  the  center  of  the  land  to  its  uttermost  ex¬ 
tremities. 

In  the  hands  of  government — controlled  by  the  people — and  con¬ 
ducted  on  a  large  scale  with  energy  and  success  this  agency  will 
be  productive  of  the  most  extraordinary  effects  on  society,  govern¬ 
ment,  commerce,  and  the  progress  of  civilization ;  but  we  cannot 
predict  its  results.  When  we  look  at  it,  we  almost  feel  as  if  we 
were  gazing  on  the  mysterious  garniture  of  the  skies — trying  to 
fathom  infinite  space,  or  groping  our  way  into  the  field  of  eternity. 

Editorials  from  the  William  R.  Hearst  newspapers,  of 
which  Arthur  Brisbane  is  editor-in-chief,  illustrate  a  pop¬ 
ular  epigrammatic  style,  abounding  in  paragraphs : 

DISCONTENT  THE  MOTIVE  POWER  OF  PROGRESS. 

At  first  the  baby  lies  flat  on  his  back,  eyes  staring  up  at  the 
ceiling. 

By  and  by  he  gets  tired  of  lying  on  his  back.  Discontent  with  his 
condition  makes  him  wriggle  and  wriggle.  At  last  he  succeeds  in 
turning  over. 

If  he  were  contented  then,  there  would  be  no  men  on  earth — only 
huge  babies.  But  discontent  again  seizes  him,  and  through  discon¬ 
tent  he  learns  to  crawl. 

Crawling — travelling  on  hands  and  knees — satisfied  lower  forms 
of  animal  life.  It  used  to  satisfy  us,  in  the  old  days  of  early  evo¬ 
lutionary  stages. 

But  the  human  infant — thanks  to  inborn  cravings — is  discon¬ 
tented  with  crawling.  With  much  trouble  and  risk  and  many 
feeble  totterings,  he  learns  to  walk  erect.  He  gets  up  into  a  posi¬ 
tion  that  takes  his  eyes  off  the  ground.  He  is  able  to  look  at  the 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


67 


sun  and  stars  and  takes  the  position  of  a  man.  Discontent  is  his 
mainspring  at  every  stage. 


What  discontent  does  in  the  limited  life  of  a  child,  it  docs  on  a 
much  larger  scale  in  the  life  of  a  man — and  on  a  scale  still  larger 
in  the  life  of  a  race. 

You  can  always  tell  when  a  man  has  reached  the  limit  of  his 
possible  development.  He  ceases  to  be  discontented — or  at  least 
to  show  discontent  actively. 

Contentment,  apathy,  are  signs  of  decadence  and  of  a  career 
ended  in  either  a  man  or  a  nation. 

If  a  baby  lies  still,  no  longer  wiggling  or  trying  to  swallow  a  toe, 
you  may  be  sure  that  he  is  seriously  ill.  The  nation  that  no  longer 
wiggles  is  in  a  condition  as  serious  as  that  of  the  motionless  infant. 


The  man  or  newspaper  which  imparts  dissatisfaction — wise  dis¬ 
content  to  a  nation  or  to  individuals,  gives  them  the  motive  power 
that  brings  improvement. 

Ruskin  as  a  young  man  declared  that  his  one  hope  in  life  was 
to  arouse  “some  dissatisfaction.” 

The  constant  aim  of  men  in  talking  to  each  other,  in  writing  for 
newspapers,  even  in  writing  novels,  should  be  to  arouse  discontent. 

In  this  column,  as  our  readers  will  have  noticed,  the  constant 
aim  is  to  make  the  great  crowd  dissatisfied. 

Only  through  discontent  can  changes  come — and  are  there  not 
causes  enough  for  discontent  and  need  enough  for  changes? 

A  majority  of  the  people  half  educated,  and  tens  of  thousands 
half  fed. 

Children  run  over  daily  because  they  have  no  playground  but 
the  gutter. 

Men  of  noble  aspirations  kept  down  by  hard  work  and  poverty. 

Children  left  locked  up  alone  all  day  while  their  mothers  work 
for  a  pittance. 

Men,  uncertain  of  their  future  and  of  their  children’s  future, 
engage  in  a  constant  struggle  for  wealth  that  is  not  needed — a 
struggle  that  develops  in  the  end  a  passion  as  useless  as  it  is  de¬ 
grading. 


68 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Unless  you  believe  that  the  world  is  perfect  because  you  happen 
to  have  enough  to  eat  and  to  wear,  you  should  be  discontented. 

You  should  remember  that  the  world’s  achievements  and  great 
changes  have  all  come  from  discontent,  and  you  should  be,  in  as 
many  ways  as  possible,  a  breeder  of  discontent  among  the  human 
beings  around  you. 


WHO  IS  INDEPENDENT?  NOBODY. 

We  all  have  our  moments  of  imagining  ourselves  independent 
characters.  We  take  pride  in  our  independence  and  are  never  as 
foolish  as  when  trying  to  prove  how  independent  we  are. 

Every  man,  to  begin  with,  is  born  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of 
his  ancestry.  You  have  not  a  thing  in  you,  and  you  never  will  have 
a  thing  in  you,  that  you  did  not  inherit  from  some  one  of  the  thous¬ 
ands  and  thousands  of  ancestors,  all  of  whom  are  dimly  stored  away 
in  your  complex  make-up. 

You  may  develop  marvelously  the  faculties  which  they  gave  you. 

But  you  are  dependent  on  those  who  brought  you  into  the  world, 
and  upon  those  back  of  them. 

The  Kaffir,  sober,  industrious,  honest,  with  all  the  virtues  rolled 
up  within  him,  has  not  a  fragment  of  one  chance  in  ten  thousand 
billions  of  equalling  the  achievements  of  a  tenth-rate  white  man 
whose  ancestral  start  was  better. 


After  birth  you  start  dependence  on  your  ancestors,  and  after 
youth  you  are  dependent  on  your  education. 

Facts  are  your  tools  and  you  can’t  work  without  them. 

If  your  mind  has  the  right  formation,  if  your  brain  is  provided 
with  the  deep  convolutions,  and  good  luck  has  supplied  you  with  a 
good  education  in  youth,  the  whole  thing  is  dependent  on  your  health 
— on  your  liver,  your  stomach,  or  other  part  of  your  internal  ma¬ 
chinery. 

Very  often  your  success  is  dependent  on  your  temper  and  tact. 
These  depend  on  your  digestion.  Digestion,  of  course,  depends  on 
your  cook,  and  the  cook’s  attention  to  business  may  depend  on  the 
politeness  of  the  policeman  in  front  of  the  house. 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


69 


You  may  feel  absolutely  independent  and  think  you  are  independ¬ 
ent,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  you  are  miserably  dependent  on  the 
mood  of  the  policeman  who  has  snubbed  the  lady  who  cooks  your 
food. 


TO  EDITORIAL  WRITERS — ADOPT  RUSKIN's  MAIN  IDEA. 

“His  pen  is  rust,  his  bones  are  dust  (or  soon  will  be),  his  soul 
is  with  the  saints,  we  trust.” 

Ruskin  is  to  be  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey.  It  is  a  fine  home 
for  a  dead  man,  with  Chatham  and  his  great  son  Pitt  in  one  tomb, 
and  the  other  great  skeletons  of  a  great  race  mouldering  side  bv 
side  so  neighborly. 

The  death  of  a  wolf  means  a  meal  for  the  other  wolves.  The 
death  of  a  great  man  means  a  meal — mental  instead  of  physical — 
for  those  left  behind.  Wolves  feed  their  stomachs — we  feed  our 
brains — on  the  dead. 

There  is  many  a  meal  for  the  hungry  brain  in  Ruskin’s  remains. 
We  offer  now  a  light  breakfast  to  that  galaxy  of  American  talent 
called  “editorial  writers.” 

Editorial  writing  may  be  defined  in  general  as  “the  art  of  say¬ 
ing  in  a  commonplace  and  inoffensive  way  what  everybody  knew 
long  ago.”  There  are  a  great  many  competent  editorial  writers, 
and  the  bittern  carrying  on  his  trade  by  the  side  of  some  swamp 
is  about  as  influential  as  ten  ordinary  editorial  writers  rolled  into 
one. 

Why  is  it  that  we  are  so  worthless,  O  editorial  writers?  Why 
do  we  produce  such  feeble  results?  Why  do  we  talk  daily  through 
our  newspapers  to  ten  millions  of  people  and  yet  have  not  influence 
to  elect  a  dog  catcher? 

Simply  because  we  want  to  sound  wise,  when  that  is  impossible, 
simply  because  we  are  foolish  enough  to  think  that  commonplaces 
passed  through  our  commonplace  minds  acquire  some  new  value. 
We  start  off  with  a  wrong  notion.  We  think  that  we  are  going 
to  lead,  that  we  are  going  to  remedy,  that  we  are  going  to  do  the 
public  thinking  for  the  public. 

Sad  nonsense.  The  best  that  the  best  editorial  writer  can  achieve 
is  to  make  the  reader  think  for  himself.  At  this  point  we  ask  our 
fellow  editorial  men — our  superiors,  of  course — to  adopt  Ruskin’s 
idea  of  a  useful  writer. 


70 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Carlyle,  written  when  he  was  a  young  man, 
he  outlined  the  purpose  which  he  carried  out,  and  which  explains 
his  usefulness  to  his  fellow-men: 

“I  have  a  great  hope  of  disturbing  the  public  peace  in  various 
directions.” 

This  was  his  way  of  saying  that  he  hoped  to  stir  up  dissatisfaction, 
to  provoke  irritation,  impatience  and  a  determination  to  do  better 
among  the  unfortunate.  He  did  good,  because  he  awoke  thought 
in  thousands  of  others,  in  millions  of  others. 

Editorial  writers,  don’t  you  know  that  stirring  up  dissatisfaction 
is  the  greatest  work  you  can  do? 

Tell  the  poor  man  ten  thousand  times: 

“There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  be  overworked.  There  is 
no  reason  why  your  children  should  be  half-fed  and  half-educated. 
There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  sweat  to  fatten  ethers.” 

Tell  them  this  often  enough,  stir  up  their  determination  suffi¬ 
ciently — they  will  find  their  own  remedies. 

If  you  want  to  drive  out  the  handful  of  organized  rogues  that 
control  politics  and  traffic  in  votes,  don't  talk  smooth  platitudes. 
Tell  the  people  over  and  over  again  that  the  thieves  are  thieves, 
that  they  should  be  in  jail,  that  honest  government  would  mean 
happier  citizens,  that  the  individual  citizen  is  responsible.  Keep 
at  it,  and  the  country  will  be  made  better  by  those  who  alone  can 
make  it  better — the  people. 

In  an  editorial  on  “Reporting  in  the  Bible/’  the  St.  Louis 
Republic  considers  the  relative  merit  of  Luke  and  Mark  as 
illustrating  the  critical  comment  type  of  editorial.  These 
extracts  are  given: 

We  should  like  to  observe  that  if  Luke  is  the  be3t  reporter,  Mark 
is  certainly  the  most  modern.  The  second  gospel  has  much  more 
of  the  newspaper  “swing”  than  has  the  third. 

The  three  notes  of  modern  reporting  are  clarity,  terseness,  ob¬ 
jectivity.  The  news  writer  of  today  aims  to  tell  a  story  that  shall 
be  absolutely  intelligible,  even  to  minds  below  the  average — sin  :e 
everybody  reads ;  to  economize  space  to  the  last  degree,  and  to 
keep  himself,  his  prejudices,  preferences,  opinions,  out  of  the  story 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


71 


altogether.  Luke’s  style,  beautiful  as  it  is,  fails  somewhat  when 
tried  by  the  last  two  requirements. 

Luke  is  leisurely  in  his  story-telling.  In  accounting  for  Jesus  and 
John,  he  begins  with  the  households  out  of  which  they  came  and 
the  events  which  preceded  their  births.  Here  shows  the  training 
of  the  physician  and  the  art  of  the  leisurely  raconteur. 

Not  so  Mark.  His  story  is  absolutely  without  color  from  life 
and  habits  of  thought  of  the  narrator.  The  book  of  Matthew  is 
visibly  the  work  of  a  publican,  with  his  instinct  for  finance  and  law, 
and  the  peculiar  view  of  the  Saviour’s  work  which  a  publican’s 
social  and  personal  experience  determined.  The  book  of  Luke  is, 
as  we  have  said,  the  book  of  a  physician,  bristling  with  evidences 
of  the  keenness  of  the  physician’s  eye,  the  warmth  of  the  physician’s 
heart,  and  the  peculiar  outlook  of  the  physician  on  life.  The  book 
of  John,  notwithstanding  that  it  speaks  in  places  the  language  of 
Alexandrian  philosophy,  is  the  book  of  a  fisherman  and  a  villager. 

But  Mark  is  none  of  these,  nor  is  it  possible  to  make  a  guess 
after  reading  it  at  the  occupation  of  the  writer — seeing  that  there 

t 

were  no  daily  papers  in  that  age.  It  is  a  story  told  clearly,  tersely 
and  with  absolute  detachment  of  the  teller  from  the  thing  told.  It 
carries  neither  adjectives,  descriptions,  nor  characterizations;  the 
characters  are  revealed  by  what  they  do  and  say.  All  irrelevant 
detail  is  cut  out;  the  story,  just  as  it  stands,  would  be  ready  for 
the  composing  room  of  the  busiest  daily  paper  in  existence  at  the 
season  of  greatest  pressure  on  the  news  columns,  were  the  events 
contemporary. 

A  newspaper  whose  special  writers  should  write  like  Luke  and 
whose  reporters  like  Mark  would  touch  the  apex  of  possibility  of  a 
news  sheet. 

From  the  Kansas  City  Star  is  taken  this  editorial,  of  the 
news  comment  type : 

LIBERTY— BUT  WHAT  THEN. 

The  twenty-seven  years  of  imprisonment  in  the  Kansas  penitenti¬ 
ary  which  John  Rogers  has  endured  has  embraced  the  full  period 
of  the  modern  development  of  that  state.  When  Rogers  leaves 
the  prison  next  Thursday  he  will  be  a  stranger  to  all  that  now 
characterizes  the  present  day  civilization.  It  is  difficult — impos- 


72 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


sible,  indeed — to  imagine  the  experience  awaiting  this  man  of  56, 
who  has  known  nothing  of  the  world  about  him  since  he  entered 
the  prison  a  young  man  29  years  of  age. 

Electric  lights,  telephones,  trolley  cars — in  fact,  all  the  modern 
conveniences  the  cities  of  Kansas  could  not  now  do  without — the 
people  were  doing  without  in  that  day.  In  addition  to  being  a 
stranger  to  the  new  world  into  which  he  will  be  introduced,  John 
Rogers  will  be  a  total  stranger  to  everyone  in  that  world,  save  for 
the  good  fortune  which  has  supplied  him  with  the  two  friends  in 
St.  Joseph  who  secured  his  pardon  from  Governor  Stubbs.  In 
the  period  of  the  legal,  living  death  sentence  which  he  has  been 
serving,  every  relative  of  John  Rogers  has  died;  every  friend  of 
his  old  world  has  forgotten  him. 

Into  his  new  life  Kansas  starts  him  out  with  a  fortune  of  $185, 
which  is  given  him  for  his  twenty-seven  years  of  service.  Perhaps 
that  is  more  than  John  Rogers  had  when  he  started  his  other  life  m 
his  other  world,  but  he  was  then  young,  strong  and  in  the  game. 
Now,  he  is  old,  broken  and  out  of  the  big  game  of  life,  dependent 
upon  the  charity  of  the  friends  who  rescued  him  from  Lansing  to 
maintain  him  in  the  remaining  years  of  his  life. 

The  spectacle  of  John  Rogers  being  pitted  in  a  game  with  such 
tremendous  odds  against  him  ought  to  serve  as  an  object  lesson 
to  teach  state  governments  the  great  progress  yet  to  be  made  in 
prison  methods.  There  is  really  nothing  in  the  incident  that  smacks 
of  flattery  for  the  present  day  civilization,  viewed  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  the  prisoner’s  future. 

In  the  Kansas  City  Star  was  this  editorial  of  the  spark¬ 
ling,  suggestive  type: 

THE  MONEY-MAKERS. 

Incompetents  have  long  held  a  grudge  against  money-makinv. 
The  money  makers  have  likewise  long  had  the  pity  of  the  pious  poor. 

With  a  clearer  understanding  that  poverty  is  the  greatest  of 
all  evils,  the  honest  efforts  to  get  rich  have  had  a  better  ethical  rat¬ 
ing.  The  whimsical  prophet  of  modernity,  Bernard  Shaw,  ha* 
voiced  the  newer  view.  And  he  borrowed  his  voice,  so  to  speak, 
from  the  Nineteenth  Century  Samuel  Butler,  whom  Shaw  justly 
regards  as  the  keenest  English  satirist  since  Swift. 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


7  3 


But  just  as  th©  rich  have  gotten  comfortably  settled  in  the  seats 
of  the  respected  may  not  one  see  a  new  danger  on  their  horizon? 
Is  there  not  plenty  of  reason  to  believe  that  men — young  men, 
especially — who  are  fitted  to  make  a  class  respectable,  will  steer 
clear  of  the  money-making  fraternity,  not  because  money  making 
is  immoral  or  spiritually  dangerous,  but  it  is  too  easy? 

Really,  when  you  come  to  consider  it,  is  there  anything  in  the 
getting  rich  game  that  makes  an  appeal  to  a  young  man  of  this 
period?  Of  course,  to  have  the  good  things  of  this  life  is  pleasant 
and  offers  some  excitement.  But  the  good  living  need  not  depend 
on  money  making  as  the  vocation  of  life,  and  the  excitements  of 
that  pursuit  are  mild  unless  one  turns  Raffles. 

A  young  man  of  good  health  and  good  address  and  a  fair  assort¬ 
ment  of  thinking  materials  can  make  money  so  easily  nowaday? 
that  many  who  are  so  equipped  are  beginning  to  think  it  is  a  shame 
to  take  it.  Of  the  young  men  of  most  anyone’s  acquaintance  those 
who  are  having  the  least  fun  and  who  count  for  the  least  in  the  world 
are  the  chaps  that  have  gone  in  to  make  all  the  money  in  sight. 
It  is  quite  doleful  to  note  how  these  young  fellows  are  left  out  of 
the  swim.  It  does  not  make  the  spectacle  less  melancholy  that 
they  don’t  realize  or  care  about  their  isolation. 

The  youths  that  are  having  the  real  fun,  and  that  know  what  life 
is,  are  the  ones  that  go  in  for  the  city,  or  that  take  a  hand  in  politics, 
or  that  get  in  the  game  to  give  the  other  fellow  a  show.  It  is 
almost  a  commonplace  now  to  speak  of  the  mental  and  spiritual 
unrest  of  this  century.  Well,  the  thing  itself  is  a  fact,  whether  or 
not  it  is  yet  a  commonplace  to  remark  upon  it. 

And  therein  is  “the  cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man’s  hand”  on  the 
horizon  of  the  wealth-hunting  era.  Young  men  quit  the  knijht- 
erranty  business  when  it  ran  out  of  dragons  and  imprisoned 
damsels  and  when  there  wasn’t  any  particular  amount  of  glory  in  it. 
Young  men  got  tired  of  the  subsequent  courtier  business,  when  it 
passed  out  of  the  stage  of  its  Three  Musketeers  quality  with  the 
chance  it  then  offered  to  do  something  of  account  for  the  king. 
They  went  in — those  that  were  worth  while  did — for  democracy 
and  revolution  when  the  only  alternative  was  to  be  stupid  append¬ 
ages  of  somebody  else’s  stupid  interests.  All  through  the  historic 
lists  it  is  the  same.  Young  men  with  fighting  stuff  in  them  will 
get  into  the  current  of  life  around  them.  Very  few  young  men 


74 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


will  consent  to  be  gilded  nincompoops  when  there  is  a  splendid  city 
to  serve  and  when  a  great  social  and  moral  stir  presents  its  dragons 
to  fight  and  its  Castles  Dangerous  to  disarm. 

The  Lexington  (Kentucky)  Herald  published  an  article 
written  by  William  C.  P.  Breckenridge,  which  illustrates 
the  brief  essay-editorial : 

THE  UNKNOWN  “WE.” 

There  is  a  certain  divinity  that  doth  hedge  about  the  editorial 
“We”  whereby  that  being’s  identity  or  identities  is,  or  are,  protected 
from  profanation.  Into  the  drawer  of  the  editorial  chief  go  all 
kinds  of  utterances,  written  by  only  the  chief  knows  whom.  Those 
passing  writers  are  like  players  upon  a  stage.  They  flit  across 
the  boards,  spend  their  little  parts  and  die  out  of  the  quickly  shift¬ 
ing  scenes.  It  is  what  they  say  or  utter  by  word  or  action  that  gives 
them  existence  even  for  a  moment.  Each  is  but  a  voice,  the  stirring 
of  the  air,  a  momentary  figure  that  sets  the  wave  of  sight  or  hear¬ 
ing  to  vibrating,  the  veriest  phantom,  dying  away  like  the  mist 
of  morning.  Only  a  voice — the  strangest  of  all  phenomena.  His 
image  can  never  be  reproduced  save  in  memory.  And  so  the  one 
who  speaks  through  the  medium  of  the  editorial  world  consents  to 
lose  all  identity  of  personality,  becomes  for  that  moment  a  part 
of  a  great  whole,  living  only  as  such,  not  entitled  to  existence  save 
while  appearing  as  the  servant  of  the  pleasure  of  a  great  organism. 

There  is  a  profound  self-sacrifice  ifi  the  act  of  speaking  editorially. 
The  day  has  gone  by  when  the  individuality  of  the  editorial  “We” 
was  of  account.  The  editorial  columns  of  the  world  glow  day  by 
day  with  the  burning  thoughts  of  the  nonentities  of  that  world. 
It  is  the  thought,  not  its  author,  that  is  considered.  Unknown,  un¬ 
cared  for,  unimportant  as  an  individual,  the  self-abrogating  thinker, 
through  editorial  columns,  speaks  of  the  great  questions  of  the  day 
and  by  his  words,  his  words  that  come  from  lips  hidden  by  the 
sacred  cloud  that  veils  the  sanctum  where  sits  supreme  the  editorial 
“We”  moves  the  world. 

Authors  there  are  whose  names  are  spoken  with  reverence.  They 
are  not  writers  of  editorials.  Yet  where  is  there  such  manifestation 
of  the  intellectual  vigor  of  this  day  as  is  seen  in  the  work  of  these 
unknown  and  unsung  beings  of  the  unseen  editorial  universe?  Those 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


75 


beings  speak  with  power,  but  not  for  themselves.  They  move  un¬ 
noticed  through  the  crowd  that,  stirred  by  their  words,  goes  to  its 
work.  They  mingle  as  unheeded  privates  in  the  ranks  of  an  army 
that  is  moved  to  lofty  deeds  by  their  thoughts.  It  is  indeed  self- 
abnegating  labor  that  these  toilers  are  content  to  undertake.  Their 
outward  reward  is  their  raiment  and  the  food  that  perisheth.  Their 
only  monument  is  the  advancing  of  the  outposts  of  man’s  upward 
march  to  a  free  employment  of  his  every  right  and  privilege. 

As  these  humble  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army  of  Human  Progress 
fall  one  by  one  with  harness  on,  even  the  noblest  is  buried  in  an 
unmarked  grave.  He  fights  until  his  death  wound  is  gotten,  then 
he  passes  away,  his  voice  is  silent,  another  steps  into  his  place, 
his  body  is  laid  to  rest,  and  “no  man  knoweth  of  his  sepulchre.” 

But  it  is  glorious  labor.  There  is  wanting  the  applause  that  is 
sweet  to  us  all.  But  there  is  that  delicious  pleasure  of  seeing  men 
obeying  our  impulses,  following  our  guidance,  thinking  our  thoughts 
even  though  We,  the  director  of  great  movements,  are  unseen, 
unknown,  unheard. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  critical,  biographical  editorial  may 
be  quoted  an  article  by  Chas.  A.  Dana,  printed  in  the  New 
York  Sun,  December  5,  1872,  giving  a  review  of  the  life  of 
Horace  Greeley,  who  had1  died  November  29  of  that  year : 

GREELEY  AS  A  MAN  OF  GENIUS. 

Those  who  have  examined  the  history  of  this  remarkable  man 
and  who  know  how  to  estimate  the  friendlessness,  the  disabilities, 
and  the  disadvantages  which  surrounded  his  childhood  and  youth; 
the  scanty  opportunities,  or  rather  the  absence  of  all  opportunity,  of 
education ;  the  destitution  and  loneliness  amid  which  he  struggled 
for  the  possession  of  knowledge ;  and  the  unflinching  zeal  and 
pertinacity  with  which  he  provided  for  himself  the  materials  for  in¬ 
tellectual  growth,  will  heartily  echo  the  popular  judgment  that  he 
was  indeed  a  man  of  genius,  marked  out  from  his  cradle  to  in¬ 
spire,  animate,  and  instruct  others. 

From  the  first,  when  a  child  in  his  father’s  log  cabin,  lying  upon 
the  hearth  that  he  might  read  by  the  flickering  firelight,  his  atten¬ 
tion  was  given  almost  exclusively  to  public  and  political  affairs. 


76 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


This  determined  his  vocation  as  a  journalist;  and  he  seems  never 
to  have  felt  any  attraction  toward  any  other  of  the  intellectual  pro¬ 
fessions.  He  never  had  a  thought  of  being  a  physician,  a  clergy¬ 
man,  an  engineer,  or  a  lawyer.  Private  questions,  individual  con¬ 
troversies  had  little  concern  for  him  except  as  they  were  connected 
with  public  interests.  Politics  and  newspapers  were  his  delight, 
and  he  learned  to  be  a  printer  in  order  that  he  might  become  a 
newspaper  maker.  And  after  he  was  the  editor  of  a  newspaper, 
what  chiefly  engaged  him  was  the  discussion  of  political  and  social 
questions.  His  whole  greatness  as  a  journalist  was  in  this  sphere. 
For  the  collection  and  digestion  of  news,  with  the  exception  of 
election  statistics,  he  had  no  great  fondness  and  no  special  ability. 
He  valued  talent  in  that  department  only  because  he  knew  it  was 
essential  to  the  success  of  the  newspaper  he  loved.  His  own 
thoughts  were  always  elsewhere. 

Accordingly  there  have  been  journalists  who  as  such,  strictly 
speaking,  have  surpassed  him.  Minds  not  devoted  to  particular 
doctrines,  not  absorbed  in  the  advocacy  of  cherished  ideas — in  a 
word,  minds  that  believe  little  and  aim  only  at  the  passing  success 
of  a  day — may  easily  excel  one  like  him  in  the  preparation  of  a  mere 
newspaper.  Mr.  Greeley  was  the  antipodes  of  all  such  persons.  He 
was  always  absolutely  in  earnest.  His  convictions  were  intense ; 
he  had  that  peculiar  courage,  most  precious  in  a  great  man,  which 
enables  him  to  adhere  to  his  own  line  of  action  despite  the  excited 
appeals  of  friends  and  the  menaces  of  variable  public  opinion ;  and 
his  constant  purpose  was  to  assert  his  principles,  to  fight  for  them, 
and  present  them  to  the  public  in  the  way  most  likely  to  give  them 
the  same  hold  upon  other  minds  which  they  had  upon  his  own.  In 
fact,  he  was  not  so  much  a  journalist,  in  the  proper  meaning  of  that 
term,  as  a  pamphleteer  or  writer  of  leading  articles. 

In  this  sphere  of  effort  he  had  scarcely  an  equal.  His  command 
of  language  was  extraordinary,  tho  he  had  little  imagination  and 
his  vocabulary  was  limited ;  but  he  possessed  the  faculty  of  expres¬ 
sing  himself  in  a  racy,  virile  manner,  within  the  apprehension  of 
every  reader.  As  he  treated  every  topic  in  a  practical  rather  than 
a  philosophical  spirit,  and  with  strong  feeling  rather  than  infallible 
logic,  so  he  never  wrote  above  the  heads  of  the  public.  What  he 
said  was  plain,  clear,  striking.  His  illustrations  were  quaint  and 
homely,  sometimes  even  vulgar,  but  they  never  failed  to  tell.  He 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


77 


was  gifted  also  with  an  excellent  humor  which  greatly  enlivened 
his  writing.  In  retort,  especially  when  provoked,  he  was  dangerous 
to  his  antagonist;  and  though  his  reasoning  might  be  faulty,  he 
would  frequently  gain  his  cause  by  a  flash  of  wit  that  took  the 
public,  and,  as  it  were,  hustled  his  adversary  out  of  court.  But 
he  was  not  always  a  victorious  polemic.  His  vehemence  in  contro¬ 
versy  was  sometimes  too  precipitate  for  his  prudence;  he  would 
rush  into  a  fight  with  his  armor  unfastened,  and  with  only  a  part 
of  the  necessary  weapons;  and  as  the  late  Washington  Hunt  once 
expressed  it,  he  could  be  more  damaging  to  his  friends  than  to  his 
opponents. 

The  occasional  uncertainty  of  his  judgment  was  probably  due, 
in  a  measure,  to  the  deficiency  of  his  education.  Self-educatcJ 
men  are  not  always  endowed  with  the  strong  logical  faculty  and 
sure  good  sense  which  are  developed  and  strengthened  by  thorough 
intellectual  culture.  Besides,  a  man  of  powerful  intellect  who  is 
not  regularly  disciplined  is  apt  to  fall  into  an  exaggerated  mental 
self-esteem  from  which  more  accurate  training  and  information 
would  have  preserved  him.  But  the  very  imperfection  of  Greeley’s 
early  studies  had  a  compensation  in  the  fact  that  they  left  him,  in 
all  the  tendencies  and  habits  of  his  mind,  an  American.  No  for¬ 
eign  mixture  of  thought  or  tradition  went  to  the  composition  of 
his  strong  intelligence.  Of  all  the  great  men  who  have  become  re¬ 
nowned  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  he  was  most  purely  and  entirely 
the  product  of  the  country  and  its  institutions.  Accordingly,  a 
sturdy  reliance  on  his  own  conclusions  and  a  readiness  to  defy  the 
world  in  their  behalf  were  among  his  most  strongly  marked  char¬ 
acteristics. 

But  a  kind  of  moral  unsteadiness  diminished  his  power.  The 
miseries  of  his  childhood  had  left  their  trace  in  a  querulous, 
lamentable,  helpless  tone  of  feeling,  into  which  he  fell  upon  any 
little  misfortune  or  disappointment;  and  as  he  grew  older  he  came 
to  lack  hope. 

As  an  example  of  the  sparkling,  humorous  editorial  com¬ 
ment  is  given  an  extract  from  an  editorial  on  “ Shakespeare 
and  Slang,”  appearing  in  the  St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat: 

Taine  made  a  master  study  of  Shakespeare,  his  work  and  his  in¬ 
fluence,  but  he  missed  the  secret  of  why  Shakespeare  was  much  less 


78 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  vogue  in  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  than  in  his 
own  time.  He  wondered  why  a  ruder,  more  primitive  and  less 
cultured  people  should  have  had  a  quicker  apprehension  and  a 
livelier  appreciation  of  the  master’s  work  than  we,  the  heirs  of  all 
the  ages  preceding  ours.  The  sum  of  his  conclusion  was  that  they 
were  less  fastidious,  but  it  misses  the  mark.  Shakespeare  was 
more  understandable  to  them  than  to  us.  They  “caught  on”  to  his 
meanings  more  readily  because  they  knew  the  slang  with  which  he 
illuminated  so  many  of  them.  It  was  their  own  slang.  They  were 
using  it  in  their  daily  speech.  Now  it  as  dead  as  Caesar,  but  then  it 
was  very  much  alive.  It  was  as  much  alive  then  as  is  the  slang 
of  this  day,  but  it  is  as  dead  now  as  will  be  the  slang  of  this  day  in 
a  century  hence. 

What  are  wc  going  to  do  about  it?  Unless  we  are  willing  to  see 
Shakespeare  pass  off  the  stage  we  must  do  something.  A  proposal 
made  not  long  ago,  half  in  jest  and  half  in  seriousness,  that  the 
most  enlivening  parts  of  Shakespeare  be  interpreted  and  recast  in¬ 
to  modern  English  slang,  aroused  enough  protest  to  show  that 
its  serious  side  was  not  its  least.  Some,  with  whom  Shakespeare 
is  a  Mecca  to  which  they  rarely  make  a  pilgrimage,  thought  it  an 
attempt  at  desecration.  Others  feared  it  as  vandalism,  but  really, 
it  was  an  effort  at  conservation.  Since  then  several  broad  bur¬ 
lesques  of  Shakespearean  plays  have  appeared,  in  which  all  the 
majesty  and  beauty  are  cut  away,  or,  if  retained,  are  retained  only 
for  purposes  of  mockery.  *****  But  the  question  still 
remains  of  why  it  is  not  possible  to  put  Shakespeare  on  the  boards 
as  he  was  put  on  at  Blackfriars,  or  the  old  Globe,  with  the  slang 
which  Globe  and  Blackfriar  audiences  translated  into  the  slang  of 
today.  We  could  leave  the  stars  to  speak  the  stately  and  immortal 
lines  and  still  have  the  illuminating  slang  interpreted  to  us  in  slang 
of  our  own.  Instead  of  having  Hamlet  swear  to  his  continued  love 
of  Rosenkranz  by  his  hands,  which  he  calls  “pickers  and  stealers,” 
we  could  have  him  say:  “I  love  you  still,  by  these  hands,  and  they 
are  no  four  flushers  at  that.”  We  must  modernize  Shakespeare 
or  lose  him  from  the  stage. 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


79 


The  local  editorial,  in  which  sparkling  words  fit  the 
thought,  is  illustrated  by  this  article  in  the  Joplin,  Missouri, 
Globe : 


THE  CRIMSON  RAMBLER. 

Just  now  Joplin  is  ablaze  with  the  crimson  rambler.  The  bril¬ 
liant  coloring  of  this  flower  against  the  deep  June  green  of  leaf 
and  grass  forms  a  striking,  beautiful  contrast.  There  is  something 
almost  barbaric  in  its  splendor.  There  is  a  bold,  but  cheering,  mes¬ 
sage  in  its  luxuriant  growth.  It  is  a  sturdy,  vigorous  bearer  of  glad 
tidings. 

One  wishes  the  crimson  rambler  would  never  die;  that  it  would 
bloom  perennially  and  ever  more  riotously.  Its  very  intensity,  how¬ 
ever,  seems  to  condemn  it  to  a  brief  but  glorious  career.  It  illumines 
a  fleeting  month  with  passionate  splendor,  and  then,  content  with  a 
life  pitched  in  the  key  of  supreme  fullness,  dies  with  heroic  prompt¬ 
ness.  It  knows  no  sere  and  yellow.  In  its  span  there  is  no  long- 
drawn  pallid  day  of  lingering  decline.  Its  mission  is  one  of  robust 
and  rubric  gayety.  It  fulfills  its  mission  and  goes  on. 

These  days  where  May  and  June  meet  are  the  calendar’s  vo¬ 
luptuous  confluence.  Now  the  green  is  at  its  greenest  and  the  sky’s 
blue  at  its  bluest.  Nature,  the  supreme  artist,  chooses  with  con¬ 
summate  skill  the  back-ground  for  her  most  daring  tints.  Soon, 
under  scorching  suns,  the  “tubes  will  be  twisted  and  dried.”  The 
apotheosis  might  surfeit  us  were  it  prolonged.  Nature  is  not  only 
the  supreme  artist,  but  is  also  infinite  wisdom. 

The  personal  editorial,  descriptive  of  the  individual  and 
furnishing  biography  with  comment,  is  illustrated  by  this 
article  from  the  Kansas  City  Journal : 

ADMIRAL  TOGO. 

Admiral  Heihachiro  Togo,  the  victorious  commander  of  the 
Japanese  fleet  in  the  battle  of  Tsushima  strait,  is  the  guest  of  the 
United  States.  The  veteran  naval  hero  of  the  East  is  on  his  way 
home  after  representing  the  mikado  at  the  coronation  ceremonies 
in  London,  and  this  is  his  first  visit  to  our  country.  He  will  spend 
a  few  days  in  Washington  where  he  will  receive  honored  attention, 


80 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


after  which  he  will  return  to  New  York  and  then  go  to  Canada  on 
his  way  to  Vancouver  where  he  will  take  ship  for  Japan. 

Of  the  distinguished  men  who  have  risen  in  Japan  within  recent 
years,  Admiral  Togo  is  probably  most  conspicuous  in  world  atten¬ 
tion.  The  spectacular  nature  of  the  service  he  rendered  his  country 
commanded  special  notice.  It  was  many  years  ago  that  this  man 
began  that  training  which  was  destined  to  make  him  the  foremost 
naval  authority  of  the  East.  Long  before  there  was  even  a  rumor 
of  war  between  Japan  and  Russia  he  was  preparing  for  it  in  the 
slow,  methodical  and  somewhat  mysterious  fashion  of  his  people, 
and  when  the  emergency  came  he  was  ready. 

Togo  has  not  ceased  to  be  a  popular  hero,  although  in  deport¬ 
ment  and  appearance  he  is  totally  lacking  in  the  traditional  char¬ 
acteristics  of  great  heroes.  True  to  his  race,  he  is  calm,  impas¬ 
sive,  dignified  and  careful  of  his  utterances.  His  words  are  the 
result  of  studied  meditation  and  although  he  is  said  to  be  able  to 
speak  English  fairly  well  he  employs  an  interpreter.  By  this  means 
he  is  furnished  with  a  mask  and  can  seek  refuge  from  insistent  in¬ 
quirers. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  delight  to  honor  this  eminent  man 
from  the  mysterious  land  across  the  Pacific.  Yet  it  is  not  more  the 
man  than  the  nation  to  which  he  belongs  that  attracts  our  friendly 
interest.  When  one  recalls  that  it  has  been  only  within  Togo’s 
lifetime  that  Japan  has  emerged  from  the  obscurity  of  ages  and 
has  started  upon  the  path  of  progress,  some  idea  may  be  gathered, 
of  the  achievements  of  those  men  who  have  brought  their  country 
to  its  present  rank  among  nations. 

This  article  from  the  St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch  is  a  speci¬ 
men  of  the  news-editorial: 

EAST  BECOMING  WEST. 

Unlike  Phineas  Fogg,  immortalized  by  Jules  Verne,  globe-circler 
Andre  Jagerschmidt  did  not  have  to  buy  an  elephant  in  order  to 
cross  part  of  Asia.  He  has  arrived  at  Yokohama,  Japan,  traveling 
eastward  from  Paris  through  Russia  and  Western  Siberia,  in  sched¬ 
ule  time,  16  days,  and  has  the  comparatively  easy  though  longest 
part  of  the  route,  across  the  Pacific,  the  United  States  and  the  At¬ 
lantic,  before  him.  With  the  exception  of  a  brief  delay  on  the 


THE  WRITING  OF  EDITORIALS 


81 


steppes,  he  encountered  none  of  the  tremendous  difficulties  that 
existed  before  the  Siberian  Railway  was  built. 

It  has  taken  Jagerschmidt  16  days  to  get  to  the  shores  of  the 
Asiatic  continent,  that  is  to  say,  to  traverse  140  degrees  of  longi¬ 
tude.  And  he  allows  himself  26  days  to  traverse  the  remaining  220 
degrees,  from  Yokohama  back  to  Paris,  through  all  of  which  route 
he  can  make  excellent  time.  The  average  travel  in  each  part  of 
his  journey  will  have  been  nearly  90  miles  per  day,  proving  that  in 
the  matter  of  transportation  the  East  is  slowly  catching  up  with 
the  West. 


6 


*"-*:**  W 


PART  IV.  NEWS-GATHERING 


I.  Reporting. 

II.  The  Beginning. 

III.  Sources  of  News. 

IV.  Assignments. 

V.  The  Reporter. 

VI.  Interviewing. 

VII.  News  and  Its  Value. 

VIII.  Office  Organization  in  News-Gathering. 


I.  REPORTING. 


Reporting  is  a  distinctive  branch  of  work  in  journalism. 
It  consists  in  the  gathering,  writing  and  interpretation  of 
news. 

The  editor  and  owner  of  a  great  afternoon  newspaper, 
a  paper  that  has  been  successful  from  the  very  beginning 
because  of  its  tenacity  to  the  policy,  “furnish  all  the  news,” 
once  remarked :  “The  most  essential  man  on  a  newspaper 
is  the  reporter.  It’s  not  such  a  difficult  task  for  me  to  find 
good,  capable  men  for  other  departments  of  newspaper 
work,  but  good  reporters  are  scarce.  When  I  find  one, 
no  matter  how  long  or  how  diligent  the  search,  or  how 
great  the  expense,  I  consider  it  a  work  well  done.” 

The  popular  belief  is  that  reporting  is  only  for  beginners. 
That  is  far  from  true.  The  foregoing  opinion  of  a  capable 
and  broad-minded  newspaper  man  is  the  opinion,  also, 
of  the  editor  of  every  first-class,  successful,  daily  newspaper 
the  world  over.  Newspapers  strive  to  present  the  news, 
and  all  of  the  news,  in  as  clear,  comprehensive  and  attrac¬ 
tive  manner  as  possible.  Only  the  newspaper  with  a  repor- 
torial  staff  of  capable  men  is  the  one  that  succeeds.  A 
good  reporter,  one  who  has  had  training  as  well  as  natural 
ability,  is  the  object  of  a  search  that  is  kept  in  mind  con¬ 
stantly  by  the  city  editor,  managing  editor,  and  others  who 
have  to  do  with  the  gathering  of  news. 

“What  do  you  consider  the  chief  asset  or  qualification  of 
a  good  reporter?”  was  the  query  put  to  a  widely  known 
editor  recently. 

The  editor  sat  for  a  moment,  studying  the  question.  All 
the  while  he  gazed  out  of  the  window  of  his  office,  in  a 

85 


86 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


building  facing  a  busy  city  street.  Presently  he  saw  some¬ 
thing  that  attracted  his  attention. 

“There  is  your  answer/’  he  replied,  pointing  to  a  young 
man,  a  reporter  on  his  own  paper,  who  was  threading  his 
way,  easily  and  dexterously  through  a  net  of  automo¬ 
biles,  street  cars  and  other  traffic.  “The  man  who  can 
do  his  work  that  skillfully  is  or  may  become  a  good  re¬ 
porter.” 

It  was  an  unique  reply,  one  typical  of  the  editor.  He 
had  shown  by  his  illustration  that  in  his  opinion  the  good 
reporter,  the  reporter  who  succeeds,  must  be  alert,  active, 
a  man  of  sure  judgment  and,  above  all,  a  man  who  sees 
things  in  a  comprehensive  way,  sometimes  only  by  a  glance. 
The  man  who  does  not  cultivate  that  alertness  of  mind, 
as  well  as  of  body,  or  who  does  not  learn  to  use  his  eyes 
to  good  advantage,  may  succeed  in  a  mediocre  way,  but 
he  will  never  win  for  himself  that  name  or  title,  it  might 
be  called,  of  “good  reporter” — a  title  for  which  every  per¬ 
son  who  enters  newspaper  work  must  necessarily  strive. 
To  succeed,  too,  one  must  have  a  love  for  his  work.  With¬ 
out  it,  that  alertness  and  energy  which  aid  him  in  what¬ 
ever  task  or  assignment  he  has  to  do,  leave  him.  He 
becomes  mechanical. 

For  the  beginner,  the  novelty  of  his  newr  employment 
or  a  temporary  enthusiasm,  may  spur  him  on  but  the  fas¬ 
cination  in  reporting  must  become  something  more  perma¬ 
nent.  Those  reporters  who  have  not,  at  least,  a  moderate 
degree  of  enthusiasm ;  who  have  not  a  spirit  of  loyalty 
to  their  paper  and  a  love  for  the  work,  should  seek  other 
fields.  Only  the  man  who  can  truthfully  say,  “I  love  my 
profession,”  succeeds. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  a  term  often  heard  in  connection 
with  newspaper  work  was  that  of  “star  reporter.”  To- 


REPORTING 


87 


day  the  term  is  seldom  used.  But  there  are  still  “star 
reporters, ”  in  fact,  if  not  in  name,  just  as  there  always 
have  been.  The  “star  reporter”  is  the  man  who  has  won 
for  himself  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  reporter.  First 
of  all,  he  is  the  one  who  can  be  depended  on ;  the  one  to 
whom  the  city  editor  turns  when  he  has  a  mission  of  im¬ 
portance  and  desires  a  reporter,  who,  he  knows,  will  pro¬ 
cure  all  the  facts,  accurately  and  in  detail  ;  the  one  who 
will  write  his  story  correctly  and  comprehensively  and  who 
will  return  to  the  office  so  that  the  news  may  be  published, 
or  put  in  type,  at  least,  at  the  earliest  moment  possible. 
Unconsciously  the  city  editor  picks  him  out  from  the 
other  members  of  the  staff,  thinking  perhaps:  “There  is 
the  man  to  send.  I  can  depend  on  him  to  get  the  story 
and  I  needn’t  worry.” 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  qualifications  of  a  good 
reporter,  however.  His  work  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  will  be  expected  to  perform  his  tasks  will  be  taken 
up  in  detail  in  later  chapters.  But  to  emphasize  again 
the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  reporter  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  a  newspaper,  and  that  many,  either  from 
failure  to  realize  this  or  from  lack  of  ability,  do  not  obtain 
success,  it  may  be  repeated  that  good  reporters  are  scarce. 
Because  of  this  scarcity,  the  “star  reporter”  of  a  few 
years  ago  still  exists.  He  is  found  in  every  newspaper 
office. 

It  is  not  meant  here  to  convey  the  idea  that  on  the 
staff  of  each  newspaper  there  is  only  one  good  reporter 
or  “star  reporter.”  There  may  be  a  half  dozen.  But  in 
the  profession  the  number  is  so  few  that  the  distinction 
is  still  made. 

The  person  who  enters  newspaper  work  with  the  idea 
that  he  will  become  a  reporter  merely  as  a  means 


88 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


of  stepping  into  a  position  of  editor  or  some  other  exec¬ 
utive  position,  and  that  reporting  is  work  done  by  the 
young  and  inexperienced,  must  soon  rid  himself  of  that 
idea.  The  field  is  as  large  and  the  responsibilities  as  great, 
perhaps,  as  any  branch  of  newspaper  work.  The  publishers 
of  most  of  the  metropolitan  newspapers,  when  they  pro¬ 
cure  a  good  reporter  would  like  to  keep  him  a  reporter. 
He  is  consulted  on  matters  pertaining  to  news;  his  ad¬ 
vice  is  sought  on  conditions  and  needs  of  the  public,  on 
public  sentiment  and  other  questions  of  importance.  Thus 
the  good  reporter  makes  his  position  one  of  superior  rank 
and  he  is  serving  his  newspaper  in  a  capacity  that  is  not 
inferior  in  comparison  to  the  duties  of  an  editor. 

Reporters  are  in  a  particular  department  of  work  that 
is  all-important.  The  hold  that  the  fascination  of  news¬ 
gathering  and  writing  has  on  the  successful  reporters  is 
well  illustrated  by  an  incident  in  the  office  of  a  newspaper 
in  the  middle  western  city  a  few  years  ago.  The  managing 
editor  offered  the  position  of  assistant  city  editor  to  a  re¬ 
porter  of  ability.  The  reporter  declined. 

“I  prefer  the  work  of  reporting,”  the  reporter  said. 
“After  my  first  year  of  newspaper  work  it  became  my 
ambition  to  have  the  city  editor  of  whatever  paper  I  was 
writing  for,  say :  ‘There’s  the  best  reporter  I  have  on  my 
staff.’  ” 

This  reporter  had  realized  his  ambition.  He  is  still  a 
reporter  and  in  refusing  an  editorship,  he  did  not  lose  fi¬ 
nancially. 

While  the  succeeding  chapters  will  deal  with  the  duties 
of  the  various  editors  in  connection  with  their  work  of 
gathering  news,  the  information  is  designee  to  aid  those 
who  are  to  become  reporters,  those  who  have  selected 
journalism  as  their  profession,  and  who  expect  to  enter 
the  field  of  news-gathering  and  news-writing. 


H.  THE  BEGINNING. 


Terms  and  Expressions.  In  the  practice  of  journal¬ 
ism  there  are  many  terms  or  expressions,  a  few  of  which 
at  least,  it  is  essential  that  the  beginner  become  familiar 
with  before  he  enters  upon  his  duties.  He  should  know 
that  when  the  city  editor  tells  him  to  “get  a  story,”  it  is 
not  meant  that  he  is  to  write  fiction.  The  term  “story”  in 
newspaper  work  has  a  meaning  widely  different  from  that 
generally  known.  In  fact,  “story”  is  the  name  applied 
to  all  printed  matter  in  the  news  columns,  whether  it  is  an 
item  of  two  lines  or  a  page.  No  word  is  more  generally 
used  in  a  newspaper  office  and  not  a  few  beginners  have 
been  puzzled  by  its  meaning. 

The  introduction  of  a  story  is  known  as  a  “lead.” 

The  beginner,  starting  on  his  first  day’s  work,  may  be 
given  a  “run.”  “Run”  is  the  term  applied  to  certain  places, 
such  as  public  offices,  where  news,  often  of  a  routine  sort, 
is  gathered  every  day,  or  at  intervals  every  day,  by  re¬ 
porters. 

“Copy”  is  the  name  given  in  all  newspaper  offices  for 
manuscript.  The  moment  the  reporter’s  story  is  on  paper 
it  becomes  “copy.” 

A  term  that  is  generally  used  and  one  that  the  begin¬ 
ner  should  keep  clearly  in  mind  is  “feature.”  When  ap¬ 
plied  as  a  classification  such  as  a  “feature  story,”  it  is  meant 
to  imply  a  human  interest  article  or  incident :  or  a  special 
story  that  is  not  classified  as  news.  But  when  a  city  edi¬ 
tor,  in  discussing  the  writing  of  a  story,  says,  “pick  out 
some  feature”  or  “put  the  feature  in  the  lead,”  he  refers 

89 


90 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


to  some  important,  unusual  or  striking  phase  of  the  story. 

An  “add”  is  an  addition  to  a  story  already  written. 

An  “assignment”  is  the  order  of  an  editor  to  obtain 
certain  facts  and  write  a  story.  A  run  may  be  an  assign¬ 
ment. 

To  “cover”  a  run,  meeting,  accident  or  any  assignment 
means  the  procuring  of  the  information  and  writing  the 
story. 

An  “insert”  is  a  paragraph  (or  it  may  be  only  a  sentence) 
that  is  to  be  placed  somewhere  in  the  body  of  a  story. 

A  “follow”  is  a  story  that  bears  a  relation  to  another 
story  already  written.  Under  separate  headlines  it  follows 
the  story  designated.  “Follow  story”  also  is  the  term  ap¬ 
plied  to  articles  written  from  day  to  day,  containing  new 
information  as  it  develops,  concerning  news  previously 
published. 

The  beginner  may  receive  the  order  to  write  a  “stick” 
or  “stickful.”  This  Is  approximately  two  inches  or  165 
words.  It  derives  its  meaning  from  the  amount  that  a 
composing  stick  will  hold. 

The  office  in  which  the  reporters  .do  their  work  is  known 
as  the  “local  room,”  “news  room”  or  “citv  room.” 

The  “morgue”  is  the  place  where  photographs,  cuts, 
newspaper  files,  clippings  and  all  records  or  books  of  ref¬ 
erence  useful  in  newspaper  work  are  kept. 

“A.  P.”  is  the  abbreviated  term  for  the  Associated  Press 
and  “U.  P.”  the  term  for  the  United  Press. 

In  addition  to  these  are  numerous  other  expressions  in 
general  use  in  newspaper  offices,  such  as,  “cut  it  down”  or 
“boil  it  down,”  (make  your  story  shorter)  ;  “let  it  run,” 
(go  into  details  in  writing  your  story)  ;  “cut  it  to  the 
bone,”  (give  only  the  bare  facts.)  These  serve  as  examples 
of  slang  expressions  which  vary  in  newspaper  offices. 


THE  BEGINNING 


91 


Personal  Appearance.  One  of  the  things  which  all  re¬ 
porters  inevitably  learn  in  time,  although  it  is  of  such  im¬ 
portance  that  it  should  be  impressed  upon  the  beginner,  is 
the  value  of  a  neat,  attractive  personal  appearance.  It  is 
an  aid  to  the  reporter  in  gathering  news.  Also  it  is  some¬ 
thing  that  the  newspapers  of  today  demand  of  their  re¬ 
porters. 

The  person  employed  as  a  reporter  may,  at  any  time, 
have  to  enter  the  best  of  homes,  attend  a  dinner,  enter¬ 
tainment  or  other  social  event ;  or  he  may  have  to  visit  busi¬ 
ness  men  and  men  who  hold  high  public  office.  When  he 
does  this  he  acts  as  a  representative  of  his  newspaper,  and, 
as  such,  the  newspapers  justly  contend  he  owes  it  to  his 
paper  that  his  personal  appearance  is  not  of  such  a  character 
fthat  would  tend  to  discredit  either  the  reporter  or  the 
newspaper  which  employs  him.  Unquestionably  the  demand 
for  a  higher  standard  regarding  personal  appearance  among 
reporters,  chiefly  because  of  the  character  of  their  work, 
has  increased  greatly  in  recent  years.  Not  always  will  the 
best  of  ability  in  all  other  phases  of  reportorial  work  save 
the  one  who  is  noticeably  lacking  in  that  one  quality.  It 
not  only  affects  the  beginner’s  chances  when  he  applies  to 
the  city  editor  or  the  managing  editor  for  a  position,  but 
later  on,  although  he  may  be  capable,  both  in  the  gathering 
and  writing  of  news,  should  he  become  too  neglectful  in 
his  habits  and  dress,  he  may  be  dropped  from  the  staff.  He 
has  had  no  warning  and  because  of  the  lack  of  a  sugges¬ 
tion  he  goes  unenlightened  as  to  the  cause  of  his  failure. 

Courtesy.  To  some  it  may  seem  unnecessary  to  call  at¬ 
tention  to  the  fact  that  courtesy  is  a  quality  that  must  be 
cultivated  by  reporters.  True,  it  is  essential  for  those  who 
practice  any  profession,  but  in  journalism  the  rush  of  work 
and  the  constant  “struggle  against  time”  develop  a  ten- 


92 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


ciency  to  neglect  this  trait  of  character.  Like  an  attrac¬ 
tive  personal  appearance,  it  is  a  quality  that  is  demanded  by 
all  newspapers.  Nevada  Davis  Hitchcock  says:  “Be  gen¬ 
tlemanly.  Courtesy  wins  favor,  and  popularity  will  bring 
more  news  items  than  rude  keenness  can  ferret  out.  Be 
honest.  Where  trickery  wins  one  piece  of  news,  straight¬ 
forwardness  gains  a  dozen; ” 

Politeness  and  courtesy  then  are  qualifications  every  good 
reporter  should  possess.  No  matter  how  trying  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  may  be,  the  beginner  soon  learns  that  strict 
adherence  to  the  use  of  these  qualities  will  overcome  ob¬ 
stacles  where  other  means  fail.  Here,  again,  he  must  keep 
in  mind  that  in  his  work  of  newsgathering  he  comes  in 
contact  with  the  public,  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  a  rep¬ 
resentative  of  his  paper.  He  owes  it  to  his  paper  to  be 
courteous.  By  courtesy  t  is  not  meant  that  the  reporter 
should  not  be  independent,  persistent,  persevering,  or  ag¬ 
gressive,  but  rather  that  he  should  refrain  from  the  gruff 
or  domineering  tactics.  The  extent  to  which  courtesy 
enters  into  newspaper  work  is  shown  by  an  incident  which 
occurred  in  the  newsroom  of  an  afternoon  newspaper  in 
an  eastern  city  recently.  The  city  editor  was  busily  en¬ 
gaged  in  directing  the  work  of  issuing  an  extra  edition 
with  the  news  of  a  riot  in  which  two  were  killed  and 
several  wounded.  The  telephone  at  his  desk  rang.  It  was 
at  a  time  when  seconds  counted.  When  he  answered  he 
learned  that  a  man  had  called  to  ask  if  he  had  heard  of 
the  riot.  The  answer  of  the  city  editor  was  not  impatient 
or  short.  In  as  few  words  as  possible  he  told  the  man  he 
had  the  story  and  ended  the  brief  talk  with  “thank  you  for 
calling  up.” 

“I  made  a  friend  for  the  paper,”  said  the  city  editor 
afterward.  “The  next  time  he  hears  of  a  story  he  will  call 


THE  BEGINNING 


93 


up  this  office.  I  have  found  it  pays  to  be  courteous  even 
if  you  do  waste  a  few  seconds  of  valuable  time.” 

Courtesy  is  not  necessarily  restricted  to  the  reporter’s 
demeanor.  It  may  include  also  his  language.  The  city 
editor  of  a  St.  Louis  paper  once  overheard  a  reporter  on 
his  staff  talking  to  a  man  about  the  death  of  a  relative. 

“Can  you  give  me  the  ‘dope’  about  Mr.  Blank’s  death?” 
asked  the  reporter. 

That  one  slang  word  lost  the  reporter  his  position.  An 
extreme  case,  perhaps,  yet  it  clearly  shows  the  demand  for 
respectful  language  and  courtesy  on  the  part  of  news¬ 
papers. 

Among  his  associates  in  the  office,  too,  it  is  well  that  the 
beginner  should  remember  the  value  of  courtesy.  He  must 
not  forget  that  a  majority  of  those  with  whom  he  is  work¬ 
ing  are  men  of  training  and  experience.  As  a  general  rule, 
these  associates  are  willing  to  aid  him  in  every  way  possible, 
should  his  conduct  be  such  that  would  warrant  such  aid. 

Reading  the  Newspaper.  Every  reporter  should  read 
thoroughly  the  newspaper  for  which  he  writes,  and  the  be¬ 
ginner  must  do  more  than  that.  Besides  reading  to  keep 
informed  on  the  news,  both  local  and  telegraph,  he  must 
study  the  paper  with  a  view  of  learning  details  of  style, 
something  of  the  general  policy  of  the  paper,  the  character  of 
the  news  it  prints  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  presented. 
It  is  important  that  he  should  study  the  stories  which  he, 
himself,  has  written  and  note  carefully  all  changes  that  are 
made. 

In  all  newspaper  offices  a  certain  style  in  writing  is  ad¬ 
hered  to  and  all  stories  must  be  made  to  conform  to  this 
style.  As  an  example,  one  newspaper  may  print,  “Main 
St.,”  another  “Ma,in  Street,”  and  another  “Main  street.” 
Certain  words  or  expressions,  too,  are  not  permitted. 


94 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


What  are  called  “style  books”  are  issued  by  some  news¬ 
papers.  Many  others  do  not  issue  them  and  the  beginner, 
then,  must  depend  on  the  newspaper  itself  to  acquire  this 
knowledge.  This  can  be  done  only  by  a  careful  study  of 
the  newspaper  on  which  he  is  employed  and  best  by  watch¬ 
ing  the  “fate”  of  his  own  stories.  Editors  or  copy-readers 
may  make  the  same  changes  in  copy  a  reasonable  number 
of  times  and  may  call  attention  to  those  changes,  if  they 
can  find  time,  but  if  the  beginner  is  not  quick  to  note  these 
corrections,  his  work  will  not  be  approved.  This  applies 
not  alone  to  the  details  in  style  but  to  the  broad  or  general 
method  of  building  or  writing  a  story.  Newspaper  offices 
are  busy  places.  Editors  find  little  time  for  instruction, 
especially  instruction  on  those  points  on  which  the  reporter 
may  gain  information,  himself,  simply  by  studying  his 
paper. 

Reading  the  newspaper,  chiefly  the  one  on  which  a  re¬ 
porter  is  employed,  but  others  in  the  same  field  and  else¬ 
where,  becomes  a  part  of  the  reporter’s  work.  At  any  time  a 
reporter  may  receive  an  assignment  to  get  a  story  that  bears 
a  relation  to  something  that  has  been  printed  before.  How, 
then,  can  he  work  intelligently  on  the  assignment,  if  he  has 
not  read  the  previous  story,  if  he  is  not  familiar  with  the 
situation?  The  first  story,  perhaps,  could  be  found  in  the 
newspaper’s  morgue.  But  that  takes  time  and.  it  should 
not  be  necessary  for  the  reporter  to  depend  wholly  on  the 
morgue,  unless  it  is  important  that  he  be  familiar  with  all 
of  the  details  of  the  previous  story.  Then  again  the  morgue 
is  not  always  available.  While  out  of  the  office  the  re¬ 
porter,  himself,  may  have  learned  of  a  story,  which  is  a 
later  development  of  a  former  event.  In  such  a  case  it  is 
his  duty  to  get  the  facts,  but  if  he  does  not  know  what  has 
already  been  published ;  if  he  is  not  familiar  with  the  con- 


THE  BEGINNING 


95 


ditions,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  he  will  not  grasp  the 
true  situation  and  that  his  story  will  be  incomplete. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  reporter  read  only  the  local 
news.  As  an  illustration,  let  us  say,  the  newspaper  on  which 
he  is  employed  has  published  a  telegraph  story  containing 
charges  against  a  man  who  holds  an  important  state  office. 
[The  official  is  away  at  the  time  the  charges  are  made.  The 
reporter  accidentally  finds  him  at  the  railway  station  or  a 
hotel  as  he  is  passing  through  the  city  on  his  way  home. 
If  the  reporter  has  not  read  the  telegraph  story  and  does 
not  know  of  the  charges,  what  is  the  result?  He  gets  an 
interview,  possibly,  about  the  trip  the  official  has  just  made, 
or  some  work  that  he  is  carrying  on.  He  returns  to  the 
office  without  the  one  thing  that  the  public  desires  to  know 
— his  statement  or  answer  to  the  charges. 

Had  the  city  editor  known  that  the  state  official  was  to 
have  been  in  the  city  and  assigned  a  reporter  to  interview 
him,  he  would  have  called  attention  to  the  telegraph  story. 
But  the  city  editor  cannot  know  of  everything  that  is  to 
happen.  He  expects  the  members  of  his  staff  to  be  pre¬ 
pared  for  just  such  emergencies. 

And,  finally,  the  beginner  by  carefully  reading  his  own 
paper  soon  learns  the  kind  of  stories  which  the  city  edi¬ 
tor  considers  important ;  whether  crimes  and  stories  of 
similar  nature  are  given  little  or  much  space ;  whether  or 
not  human  interest  stories  or  special  stories  are  desired; 
what  crusades  are  being  carried  on,  and  similar  informa¬ 
tion. 


m.  SOURCES  OF  NEWS. 


Runs.  The  gathering  of  news,  both  by  metropolitan  and 
country  newspapers,  has  been  systematized.  A  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  news  printed  each  day  comes  to  the  news¬ 
papers  through  regular  channels,  that  is,  from  the  same 
sources.  In  every  city  and  small  town  certain  places  are 
watched  constantly  by  reporters.  The  list  is  practically  the 
same  in  all  newspaper  offices.  The  number  of  these  sources 
depends  on  the  size  of  the  city  or  town.  The  extent  to 
which  the  information  gathered  is  available  as  news,  de¬ 
pends  also  on  the  size  of  the  community  in  which  the  paper 
is  published  and  the  circulation  of  that  paper.  These  places 
visited  regularly  by  reporters  are  known,  generally,  as  runs. 

One  place  visited  may  constitute  a  run  or  they  may  be 
grouped.  In  cities  the  places  or  offices  where  the  volume  of 
public  business  is  great,  or  where  much  information  con¬ 
cerning  the  affairs  of  the  people  in  a  community  is  brought 
to  light,  it  is  often  found  necessary  to  have  a  reporter  con¬ 
stantly  on  duty.  Other  places,  where  fewer  stories  are  de¬ 
veloped  and  where  the  news  may  be  less  important,  are 
grouped  and  assigned  to  one  reporter.  In  such  an  instance 
the  reporter  will  visit  several  places  regularly  and  gather 
news  of  a  widely  different  character.  In  some  of  the  larger 
cities  news  from  these  sources  is  procured  by  city  press  as¬ 
sociations  and  sold  by  them  to  the  newspapers  in  those  cities. 
In  case  the  news  is  of  such  importance  that  the  editor  be¬ 
lieves  it  advisable  to  obtain  a  special  story,  then  he  sends 
a  special  reporter  from  his  staff.  Otherwise  these  city 
press  associations  are  depended  on  to  furnish  the  facts.  But 
comparatively  few  of  the  cities  have  press  associations  and 

96 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


97 


the  runs  are  covered  by  the  newspapers  individually,  that  is, 
by  reporters  from  each. 

The  reporter  in  the  small  town  will  find  that  the  work  of 
covering  a  run  will  consist  in  visiting  several  or  many 
places  regularly.  The  amount  of  news  to  be  obtained  from 
any  one  place  will  not  as  a  rule  be  sufficient  to  require 
him  to  watch  that  place  continuously,  except  possibly  in 
the  case  of  events  in  which  there  is  wide  interest  as,  for 
example,  court  proceedings.  It  must  be  understood,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  task  of  the  reporter  who  covers  a  run  in 
a  small  town  is  not  lighter,  that  he  gathers  news  of  as 
great  importance  to  his  community  and  as  many  or  more 
news  stories  than  the  reporter  on  a  metropolitan  news¬ 
paper.  The  reporter  for  the  country  daily  or  weekly  news¬ 
paper  judges  news  from  a  viewpoint  different  from  that  of 
the  city  newsgatherer. 

The  interests  in  a  small  community  are  centralized. 
Country  journalists  must  take  that  into  consideration. 
Where  a  city  reporter  will  reject  information  as  too  un¬ 
important  for  news  because  it  interests  only  a  very  few 
or  a  comparatively  small  class  of  persons,  the  same  in¬ 
formation  would  be  available  material  for  the  country 
paper.  In  a  large  city  with  a  population  of  several  hun¬ 
dred  thousand,  a  reporter  may  learn  of  a  fire  at  the  home 
of  John  Smith  in  an  isolated  district.  There  are  no  un¬ 
usual  features ;  there  is  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  hun¬ 
dreds  of  similar  fires ;  the  loss  is  small  and  Smith  is  not 
generally  known  in  the  city.  No  story  is  written  and 
if  the  fact  is  published  at  all  it  is  included  merely  as  a 
line  in  a  record  of  the  fires  for  that  day.  Should  a  similar 
fire,  under  the  same  conditions,  occur  in  a  small  town, 
the  reporter  has  material  for  a  story.  Here  fires  are  still 
classified  as  the  unusual.  Smith  necessarily  is  more  widely 
7 


98 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


known  to  the  community  as  a  whole  and  to  the  readers 
of  the  paper  published  in  the  community.  More  persons 
know  that  there  had  been  a  fire  and  are  interested  in  know¬ 
ing  its  extent.  The  details  are  correspondingly  of  greater 
interest. 

Because  of  this  personal  interest,  the  coming  and  going 
of  the  residents  of  a  small  town  (news  from  depots  and 
trains  which  constitute  a  run  in  small  towns),  is  consider¬ 
ed  news.  In  a  city  unless  the  persons  written  about  are 
uf  special  prominence,  the  personal  interest  to  the  readers 
as  a  whole,  does  not  exist. 

The  same  places  are  visited  regularly  for  news  in  the 
large  cities.  The  names  of  officials,  offices,  institutions, 
organizations  and  courts  often  differ  yet  the  general 
character  of  the  news  to  be  obtained  is  essentially  the  same. 
Additional  runs  are  covered  in  some  cities  and  in  the  small 
towns  the  number  naturally  will  be  limited.  A  list  of  the 
more  important  places  watched  for  news  in  the  larger  cities 
and  in  the  smaller  towns,  as  far  as  the  offices  and  organiza¬ 
tions  are  maintained,  follows : 


City  Hall 
Police  Stations 
Hotels 
Undertakers 
Justice’s  Courts 
Postoffice 
Union  Station 
Steamship  Offices 
Schools 
Theaters 


Municipal  Courts 
Fire  Headquarters 
Public  Hospitals 
County  Jail 
County  Courts 
Federal  Courts 
Civic  Organizations 
Political  Headquarters 
Coroner’s  Office 
Clubs 


From  the  foregoing  places  the  reporters  gather  the  news 
of  accidents,  deaths,  crimes,  suicides,  court  proceedings, 
financial  transactions,  municipal  proceedings,  improvements, 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


99 


fires,  noted  visitors,  and  political,  theatrical,  and  educational 
news.  At  some  of  these  places  the  reporters  are  on  duty 
constantly  until  the  last  edition  of  their  paper  has  gone  to 
press.  Others  are  visited  at  intervals  of  every  few  hours 
and  still  others  once  or  twice  a  day.  While  the  beginner 
may  not  be  assigned  to  any  of  these  runs,  it  is  well  that 
he  should  know  what  places  are  watched  for  news,  for  the 
knowledge  may  save  him  some  unnecessary  work.  For 
example,  a  reporter  who  has  been  sent  out  on  a  special 
assignment  may  hear  of  a  fire,  a  suicide,  or  a  story  in 
the  postoffice  or  city  hall.  If  he  is  familiar  with  the  runs 
on  a  newspaper,  then  he  knows  that  the  task  of  getting  any 
one  of  these  stories  falls  to  another  member  of  the  staff. 
But  it  is  his  duty,  if  the  story  is  at  all  important  or  should 
be  procured  immediately,  to  notify  the  city  editor  and 
make  sure  that  the  story  will  not  be  missed.  Knowledge 
of  the  system  employed  in  gathering  news  and  the  runs 
assigned  prevents  confusion  of  work  among  the  reporters. 

In  covering  a  run,  there  is  at  least  one  rule  that  can  be 
laid  down  and  that  is — make  friends  with  those  from  whom 
you  gather  news  regularly.  On  the  reporter’s  ability  to 
make  friends  and  to  impress  those  from  whom  he  gathers 
information  that  he  can  write  and  interpret  news  accurately 
and  intelligently  will  depend  much  of  his  success. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  tell  specifically  what  news  is  to 
be  obtained  from  these  runs.  But  to  give  the  beginner 
an  idea  of  the  duties  of  the  various  persons  or  officials 
whom  he  will  meet,  and  to  acquaint  him  in  a  general  way 
with  the  character  of  the  news  to  be  gathered  from  the 
runs,  each  of  them  will  be  considered  separately.  They 
will  not  be  taken  up  in  order  of  importance.  All  runs 
on  a  newspaper  are  important,  although  it  is  true,  that 


100 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


stories  of  greater  value  are  developed  more  frequently  on 
some  than  on  others. 

Undertakers.  In  some  cities  the  undertakers  are  re¬ 
quired  to  make  reports  immediately  of  all  deaths  to  the 
city  health  authorities.  Where  there  is  such  a  regulation, 
the  newspapers  do  not  send  a  reporter  to  each  of  the  under¬ 
taking  establishments  but  depend  on  these  reports  which 
give  the  facts  obtained  by  the  undertaker,  such  as  the  name, 
age,  occupation,  cause  of  death,  etc.  In  case  additional 
facts  are  desired,  a  reporter  is  specially  assigned  to  get 
the  story.  But  in  those  cities  of  moderate  size,  where  the 
number  of  undertakers  is  not  so  large,  there  is  an  under¬ 
takers’  run.  The  reporter  visits  the  place  not  too  far 
distant  from  the  business  district  and  those  in  the  outlying 
districts  are  “watched”  by  telephone.  Through  an  under¬ 
taker,  a  reporter  may  learn  of  the  death  of  a  person  of 
prominence  or  of  a  death  from  unusual  cause.  In  such 
instances  it  is  the  duty  of  the  reporter  to  visit  the  home 
and  see  relatives  or  friends  to  obtain  more  details.  Where 
the  reporter  has  time,  it  is  well  to  investigate  as  many 
deaths  as  possible  in  this  manner,  although  he  may  have 
received  no  hint  from  the  undertaker  or  other  sources 
that  he  will  find  anything  of  interest  in  the  person’s  life  or 
manner  of  death. 

The  undertaker  is  not  versed  in  news-gathering  and 
ordinarily  obtains  only  the  bare  facts  for  his  records. 
In  talking  with  relatives  or  friends  not  infrequently  the 
reporter  finds,  by  these  visits,  material  for  interesting 
stories.  He  may  learn,  for  instance,  that  the  man  had  been 
an  inventor  of  many  small  devices  used  in  households;  or 
that  he  possessed  a  fine  collection  of  curios ;  or  that  he  was 
a  survivor  of  some  disaster  which  occurred  in  the  city 
years  ago;  or  that  he  had  once  held  public  office.  These 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


101 


are  only  a  few  examples  of  the  numberless  facts  that 
would  make  the  account  more  than  a  mere  death  notice 
and  be  of  interest  to  others  in  addition  to  the  friends  and 
relatives  of  the  man  who  is  dead. 

These  stories  can  be  obtained  only  by  thorough  and  con¬ 
scientious  work  on  the  part  of  the  reporter.  No  better 
illustration  of  this  diligence  can  be  had  than  by  the  com¬ 
parison  of  two  death  stories  published  by  rival  morning 
papers  in  a  city  with  a  population  of  300,000  a  few  months 
ago.  One  paper  published  not  more  than  a  dozen  lines 
about  a  man,  whom  we  will  call  John  Brown.  The  story  said 
that  Mr.  Brown  was  a  retired  contractor,  gave  his  age, 
cause  of  death,  the  list  of  relatives  and  ended  with  the 
funeral  arrangements.  The  other  paper  published  more  than 
half  a  column,  reciting  the  fact  that  forty  years  ago  Mr. 
Brown  had  been  an  alderman  in  the  city,  giving  in  detail 
his  connection  with  certain  reforms  and  ordinances  still  in 
effect.  Here  was  a  man  who  once  had  been  widely  known, 
but  in  the  rapid  progress  of  the  city  was  forgotten,  except 
to  old  personal  friends.  The  reporter  on  one  paper  had 
depended  on  the  undertaker  for  his  facts  in  recording  the 
death.  The  other  had  investigated  and  by  thoroughness  in 
his  work  obt  ned  a  story  of  more  than  general  interest, 
a  story  that  was  worth  while  and  was  widely  read. 

In  all  stories  errors  in  facts  and  names  and  inaccuracies 
are  considered  inexcusable,  but  especially  they  are  to  be 
deplored  in  death  stories.  Where  the  ordinary  story  is  read 
and  cast  aside,  the  story  of  a  death,  as  a  general  rule,  is 
preserved  by  the  relatives  and  extra  copies  of  the  paper  are 
sent  to  friends.  It  is,  then,  the  special  aim  of  newspapers 
to  avoid  errors  in  the  handling  of  death  news,  a  fact  that 
every  reporter  who  is  assigned  to  the  undertakers*  run  should 
keep  in  mind.  While  the  run  is  one  that  is  often  given  to 


102 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


beginners,  it  is  clear  that  it  does  not  lack  in  possibilities  or 
importance  and  that  thorough  work  counts. 

Hotels.  When  assigning  a  new  reporter  to  the  hotel  run, 
the  city  editor  of  a  metropolitan  paper  once  said:  “Re¬ 
member  that,  without  exception,  almost,  every  person  you 
find  registered  at  a  hotel  can  give  you  a  story  of  some  sort. 
Your  first  duty  is  to  meet  the  guests  and  get  them  to  talk. 
Then  the  news  stories  will  come.” 

That  advice  came  from  a  man  who  had  been  a  reporter 
many  years  and  who  had  learned  by  experience  the  pos¬ 
sibilities  in  gathering  news  at  hotels.  For  the  good  re¬ 
porter,  one  who  is  able  to  converse  and  ask  questions  in¬ 
telligently,  there  is  no  better  field  for  news  than  the  hotels. 
The  hotel  is  the  temporary  home  of  travelers  and  was  not 
the  first  work  of  gathering  and  distributing  news  done  by 
travelers?  In  the  hotels  are  to  be  found  the  politicians, 
public  officials,  business  men  and,  in  fact,  men  of  every  pro¬ 
fession  and  station  in  life.  Somewhere,  it  may  have  been 
in  the  home  town,  or  on  their  travels,  they  have  seen  or 
heard  something  that  is  worth  printing. 

But  a  hotel  guest,  like  most  persons  who  do  not  come  in 
contact  often  with  newspaper  men  and  who  are  not  ac¬ 
customed  to  giving  out  news,  often  does  not  know  what  to 
tell.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  he  has  concealed  in  his 
mind  an  interesting  story  which  he  is  willing  to  give  out, 
but  to  him  it  is  not  a  newspaper  story.  It  may  be  the  last 
thing  he  would  think  of  telling,  if  he  were  not  prompted 
by  some  question  of  the  reporter.  Here  then  is  the  hotel 
reporter’s  opportunity.  How  shall  he  begin? 

Experience  has  developed  general  methods  in  gathering 
the  news  at  hotels,  but  the  work  to  a  great  extent  must 
depend  on  the  reporter’s  own  ability,  judgment  and  per¬ 
ception.  First  the  reporter  should  become  acquainted  with 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


103 


hotel  officials.  Through  their  positions  they  in  time  learn 
something  about  each  guest — his  profession  or  occupation, 
or,  to  be  more  definite,  who  he  is.  By  consulting  the 
register  and  conversing  with  the  clerk,  the  reporter  may 
select  a  list  of  those  who,  in  his  judgment,  are  most  likely 
to  have  some  news  worth  telling.  From  this  point  oh, 
much  depends  on  the  reporter,  himself.  From  a  discussion 
with  the  man  about  affairs  in  his  home  city  or  personal 
experiences  in  traveling,  all  of  which  may  lead  to  other 
topics,  the  odds  are  certainly  in  favor  of  a  story,  if  not  a 
new  s  story  then  one  of  human  interest. 

Not  always  is  the  hotel  man's  task  so  difficult,  however. 
He  may  find  registered  at  the  hotel  a  public  official,  a 
lecturer,  a  noted  financier  or  some  other  person  who  has 
been  more  or  less  in  the  public  eye.  These  are  men  he 
should  interview.  To  interview  them  successfully,  as  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  he  must  be  a  careful  reader  of 
newspapers.  To  procure  an  interview  on  a  timely  subject 
is  almost  as  important  as  the  procuring  of  the  interview, 
itself.  For  a  reporter  to  show  he  ,is  familiar  with  the  work 
of  a  public  man  is  a  factor  that  aids  him  greatly  in  getting 
news  from  that  public  man. 

In  addition,  the  hotel  reporter  will  find  meetings,  ban¬ 
quets,  conferences,  weddings,  and  other  things  that  must 
be  covered.  Some  newspapers  print  each  day  a  list  of 
guests  who  are  registered  at  the  hotels,  but,  as  a  general 
rule,  few  personals  are  published  in  metropolitan  news¬ 
papers.  If  a  person  is  so  widely  known  that  it  is  con¬ 
sidered  a  matter  of  news  to  record  the  fact  that  he  is 
in  the  city,  it  is  probable  that  an  interview — something 
about  himself  or  his  work — is  also  worthy  of  recording. 
The  hotel  run  it  will  be  seen,  is  one  where  little  routine 
news  is  gathered.  The  reporter  works  without  a  guiding 


104 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


hand  and  the  possibilities  of  the  run  are  what  the  reporter, 
himself,  makes  them. 

Police.  In  the  system  of  gathering  news  the  police  de¬ 
partment  plays  an  important  part  in  every  city.  The 
general  plan  of  the  police  in  recording  events  which  come 
within  their  province  and  the  nature  of  their  duties  could 
scarcely  be  arranged  to  better  advantage  for  the  news¬ 
papers.  The  police  system  is  practically  the  same  in  all 
large  cities. 

An  assignment  to  the  police  run  means,  in  most  cases, 
that  the  reporter  is  to  go  to  police  headquarters  or  central 
police  station.  There  he  will  find  an  office  or  press  room 
with  desks,  typewriters  and  telephones  for  the  exclusive 
use  of  the  newspaper  men.  There,  also,  he  will  find  the 
offices  of  the  police  board  and  high  police  officials.  The 
first  news  of  accidents,  crimes,  suicides,  and  all  other  events 
within  the  scope  of  police  work,  are  reported  to  police  head¬ 
quarters  as  soon  as  possible ;  the  important  ones  at  once, 
but  the  minor  ones,  probably,  more  at  the  leisure  of  the 
commanding  officers  in  the  various  police  precincts.  From 
these  reports,  if  sufficient  details  of  facts  accompany  them, 
the  police  reporter  obtains  his  story.  In  case  he  does  not 
obtain  enough  details  at  the  central  station,  he  gets  in 
communication  with  the  commanding  officer  in  the  precinct 
from  which  the  particular  piece  of  news  emanates.  Then, 
if  he  fails  to  obtain  the  desired  information,  he  may  notify 
his  office  so  that  a  special  reporter  may  be  sent  to  get  the 
story. 

The  police  system  of  a  city  is  divided  into  districts  or 
precincts.  In  each  precinct  is  a  station  house  with  its 
prison  cells  and  offices  of  the  commanding  officers.  To  fol¬ 
low  the  journey  of  a  news  report  from  a  point  in  any  of 
these  precincts,  let  us  take  a  specific  case : 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


105 


Patrolman  Smith,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  is  sum¬ 
moned  to  a  house  on  his  beat  where  a  woman  has  shot 
and  killed  her  husband.  In  case  the  woman  has  not  fled,  the 
patrolman  places  her  under  arrest  and  at  once  notifies  the 
officer  in  charge  of  the  station  in  his  district.  He  may  or 
may  not  give  any  details  of  the  murder.  If  he  does, 
these  details  are  at  once  transmitted  to  the  central  station 
where  the  reporter  gets  them.  If  he  does  not,  the  patrol¬ 
man  makes  a  hasty  investigation,  while  other  officers  are 
on  the  way  to  the  house,  and  he  is  soon  at  the  precinct 
station  with  his  prisoner.  There  the  officer  in  charge  trans¬ 
mits  the  details  of  the  crime  to  the  central  station  often 
before  he  makes  a  record  of  the  crime  on  the  “blotter,”  as 
his  record  book  is  commonly  called.  At  the  central  station 
the  news  will  be  given  to  the  reporter  immediately  and  the 
details  are  sufficient  for  him  to  telephone  a  brief  story  to 
the  office  of  his  newspaper,  or  write  it  and  send  it  by  mes¬ 
senger.  For  later  editions  a  reporter  from  the  office,  per¬ 
haps,  will  be  sent  and  a  more  complete  story  is  procured. 

The  police  reporter  rarely  leaves  his  post,  unless  he  has 
notified  his  office  and  is  relieved  by  another  man. 

In  the  same  manner  reports  of  finding  of  bodies,  suicides, 
robberies  and  accidents,  where  they  are  important,  reach  the 
police  reporter.  He  keeps  in  touch  constantly  with  the  of¬ 
ficers  in  the  district  from  which  the  report  of  news  comes, 
and  procures  any  new  details  that  the  police  may  have 
gathered.  It  depends  on  how  quickly  the  police  work,  their 
ability  to  obtain  definite  and  accurate  details,  the  importance 
of  the  news  story  and  the  length  of  time  the  reporter  has 
to  gather  facts  for  his  story  before  the  next  edition  of  his 
paper,  whether  or  not  it  is  necessary  for  a  special  man  from 
the  office  to  handle  the  story.  In  some  instances  a  news 
paper  may  station  more  than  one  man  at  police  headquarters 


106 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Then,  when  a  story  cannot  be  covered  thoroughly  with  the 
details  obtained  from  the  police,  one  of  the  reporters  “goes 
out  on  the  story,”  that  is,  he  makes  his  own  investigation 
and  g'athers  his  information  firsthand.  This  is  considered 
a  good  plan  to  follow  in  any  event,  for  information  may 
be  gained  that  will  lead  to  a  much  better  story  than  that 
uncovered  by  the  police. 

Usually,  too,  the  precinct  stations  constitute  a  run  and 
the  man  who  does  this  work  may  learn  of  the  story  on  which 
the  reporter  at  police  headquarters  is  at  work.  Unless  he 
happens  to  reach  the  particular  precinct  soon  after  the  news 
develops,  however,  it  is  probable  that  the  reporter  at  central 
station  is  ahead  of  him.  If  he  does  hear  of  an  important 
piece  of  news,  it  is  his  duty  to  learn,  either  from  his  office 
or  the  police  reporter,  if  it  is  covered  or  being  covered.  If 
it  is  not  covered,  then  he  will  be  expected  to  procure  the 
story. 

The  reporter  who  has  been  assigned  to  the  outside  police 
precincts  goes  from  one  station  house  to  another  and  the 
frequency  of  his  visits  depends,  naturally,  on  the  number  of 
the  precincts  and  the  locations  of  the  station  houses.  He 
meets  the  commanding  officers  and  in  most  instances  is  al¬ 
lowed  to  see  the  reports  which  the  officers  have  not  con¬ 
sidered  of  sufficient  importance  to  send  to  police  headquar¬ 
ters  at  once.  From  these  and  from  the  officers  in  the  pre¬ 
cincts,  he  obtains  many  good  stories,  stories  that  may  not 
be  of  great  importance  but  contain  unusual  or  human  inter¬ 
est  features.  On  the  other  hand,  he  may  find  stories  of 
events  that  the  police  have  not  considered  important,  hence 
no  report  has  been  sent  to  police  headquarters.  Yet  these 
stories  are  often  important  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  news¬ 
paper. 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


107 


The  police  reporter  must  be  able  to  judge  news  quickly 
and  accurately.  Patrolmen  take  their  prisoners  to  the 
station  where  they  are  locked  up,  released  on  bond  or  al¬ 
lowed  to  go,  after  a  warning.  Each  of  these  arrests  must 
be  investigated.  The  reporter,  after  inquiring  into  the  facts 
discards  certain  cases  as  unworthy  of  a  story  and  notes 
the  important  details  of  another,  with  a  view  of  writing 
about  it. 

Cases  of  drunkenness  will  not  be  written.  Petty  thiev¬ 
ery  cases  and  small  robberies,  also,  will  be  discarded,  unless 
there  are  unusual  features  or  those  concerned  are  widely 
known.  Other  arrests  he  will  write  about,  basing  the 
element  of  news  on  the  prominence  of  the  persons  involved, 
the  enormity  or  oddity  of  the  alleged  crime,  the  manner  of 
capture  or  other  unusual  features.  In  the  same  way  he 
sifts  out  stories  from  the  many  reports  of  accidents,  fights, 
lost  persons,  and  other  things,  but  always  after  a  careful 
investigation.  If,  for  instance,  the  mayor  of  a  city  is  slight¬ 
ly  injured  in  an  ordinary  accident  it  would  be  worth  a  story. 
But,  if  the  victim  happens  to  be  a  laborer,  then  nothing 
will  be  written.  In  accidents  the  extent  of  a  person’s 
injuries  and  the  cause  are  also  taken  into  consideration. 
Had  the  laborer  been  dangerously  or  fatally  injured  or 
the  cause  of  the  accident  been  an  unusual  one,  then  there 
would  have  been  material  for  a  story. 

Too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  by  the  police  re¬ 
porter  in  getting  his  facts  accurately.  A  wrong  name  or 
a  mis-statement  of  facts  regarding  an  arrest  often  leads  to 
serious  consequences  for  his  newspaper. 

Coroner’s  Office.  From  the  coroner’s  office  reporters 
gather  news  of  all  deaths  from  unnatural  causes — suicides, 
fatal  accidents,  murders — and  sometimes  deaths  where  the 
cause  has  not  been  determined.  In  cases  of  murder  and 


108 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


fatal  accidents,  it  is  seldom  that  the  coroner  hears  of  the 
event  before  the  police  do  and  in  most  cases  he  is  notified 
by  the  police. 

But  the  coroner  often  receives  news  of  suicides  that  never 
reaches  the  police.  This  is  particularly  true  where  the 
suicide  occurs  in  the  residence  district  and  where  a  physi¬ 
cian  is  summoned  before  the  victim  dies.  The  physician 
is  required  by  law,  in  such  cases,  to  notify  the  coroner. 

The  reporter  may  obtain  his  information  from  the  coroner, 
after  the  latter  has  made  an  investigation  or  by  a  personal 
investigation.  The  three  chief  news  elements  that  enter  in¬ 
to  suicide  stories  are :  Means  of  death,  cause  of  the  act,  and 
the  prominence  of  the  person  who  took  his  or  her  life. 
On  these  the  reporter  bases  the  importance  of  his  story. 

It  is  well  that  the  reporter  who  visits  the  coroner’s  office 
should  know  the  attitude  of  his  paper  toward  suicide 
stories.  The  policy  of  many  of  the  best  newspapers  of  the 
present  day  is  not  to  print  more  than  the  bare  facts  about 
suicides  unless  the  person  who  has  taken  his  life  is  so  wide¬ 
ly  known  that  it  makes  the  story  one  of  unusual  importance. 
Suicides,  it  is  held  by  these  editors,  are  often  the  result 
of  suggestion.  Many  persons  who  are  brooding  over  some 
trouble,  the  editors  say,  read  the  details  of  a  suicide,  and 
owing  to  the  condition  of  their  mind,  are  susceptible  to  the 
suggestion  of  self-destruction.  The  policy  of  certain  news¬ 
papers  is  not  only  to  refrain  from  giving  details,  but,  also, 
from  giving  news  of  suicide  a  prominent  position  in  the 
paper. 

From  the  coroner,  also,  the  reporter  may  obtain  the  news 
which  clears  the  mystery  surrounding  a  death.  Where 
however,  his  autopsy  may  show  that  death  was  due  to  a 
there  is  doubt  as  to  the  cause  or  manner  of  death,  the 
coroner  performs  an  autopsy.  Instead  of  clearing  a  mystery, 
however,  his  autopsy  may  show  that  death  was  due  to  a 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


109 


blow,  or  poison,  thus  disclosing  a  crime.  An  official  in¬ 
quiry  in  such  cases  may  lead  to  arrests,  the  facts  about 
which  may  be  learned  from  the  coroner. 

At  the  coroner’s  inquests,  where  witnesses  are  examined 
in  connection  with  murders,  suicides  and  fatal  accidents, 
many  additional  facts  are  brougdit  out  in  connection  with  the 
case  involved.  These  inquests  are  generally  attended  by  the 
reporter  who  has  been  assigned  to  the  coroner’s  office. 

Justice’s  Courts — Municipal  Courts.  Because  of  the 
similarity  of  these  two  places,  as  regards  the  character  of 
news  to  be  obtained,  they  may  be  taken  up  jointly.  Crim¬ 
inal  cases,  where  persons  are  accused  of  minor  offenses, 
are  tried  in  each,  and  in  the  justice’s  courts  also  minor 
civil  suits  are  brought  and  tried.  Although  many  im¬ 
portant  news  stories  are  developed  in  these  courts,  they 
offer  a  field  for  the  reporters  that  is  rich  in  human  interest 
material.  Here  day  after  day  the  troubles  of  those  in 
every  walk  of  life,  almost,  are  aired,  but  each  day  some¬ 
thing  original  in  humor  or  something  new  in  pathos  comes 
to  light.  The  commonplace  neighborhood  row,  or  the  trouble 
over  a  debt  are  not  of  interest  to  the  public,  but  the  little 
human  interest  incidents  of  life,  brought  out  in  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  the  cases  are  what  the  reporter  should  search  for. 

The  reporter  may  have  several  of  the  courts  to  visit.  He 
cannot  hope  to’  gather  his  material  by  stopping  at  each  only 
long  enough  to  ply  the  judge  or  clerks  with  questions. 
He  must  see  the  witnesses,  hear  them  testify  and  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  the  case,  if  he  hopes  to  succeed. 

In  the  justice’s  courts  preliminary  hearings  are  held.  At 
these  hearings  the  reporters  often  gather  late  developments 
or  new  facts  on  cases  of  importance  that  have  already  been 
reported. 


110 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Schools.  While  news  of  schools  may  be  said  to  be  of 
general  interest,  it  is  chiefly  because  of  the  women  and 
children  readers  that  the  newspapers  consider  it  important 
to  print  the  happenings  in  the  public  schools,  as  well  as  in 
the  private  schools  and  colleges  of  the  city.  From  the 
offices  of  the  board  of  education  and  the  superintendent 
of  schools,  the  reporter  may  obtain  each  day  such  news  as 
relates  to  changes  in  the  teaching  staff,  new  rules  govern¬ 
ing  discipline,  new  courses  of  study,  improvements,  and 
many  other  things  of  interest  to  pupils  and  their  parents. 
Experiments  performed  by  the  pupils,  winning  of  prizes 
and  honors,  and  incidents  attendant  on  school  days  are 
worthy  of  stories,  also.  The  board  of  education  has  its 
regular  meetings,  which  are  attended  by  the  reporters.  The 
various  meetings  of  the  teachers  are  often  productive  of 
stories.  Athletic  contests  in  the  schools  are  generally  con¬ 
sidered  as  sporting  news  and  gathered  by  the  sporting 
editor’s  department. 

The  school  is  a  public  institution  and  the  teacher  is  a 
public  officer.  To  the  teacher  are  entrusted  responsibilities 
far  greater  than  are  left  to  the  average  public  officer — not 
the  mere  business  affairs  of  the  people,  but  the  instruction, 
care  and  the  moral  and  physical  welfare  of  their  children. 
In  return,  the  teacher  owes  to  the  people,  particularly  the 
parents  of  the  pupils  in  his  charge,  all  information  relating 
to  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  his  school  or  special  department, 
as  far  as  this  information  is  of  general  interest.  Such  in¬ 
formation,  providing,  always,  that  it  is  of  general  interest 
to  the  parents  and  others  in  the  community,  and  not  of 
trivial,  private  or  purely  technical  nature,  constitutes  news. 
It  is  news  to  which  the  residents  of  the  community  in  which 
the  school  is  maintained,  are  entitled,  indisputably. 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


111 


Fire  Headquarters.  Like  the  police  system,  the  system 
of  fire  protection  in  a  city  is  divided  into  districts  or  pre¬ 
cincts,  each  having  its  engine  house  with  apparatus  and  crew. 
All  alarms  of  fires  are  first  received  at  fire  headquarters 
and  there  communicated  to  the  various  engine  houses.  No 
matter  in  what  locality  the  fire  may  be,  if  it  is  of  any  im¬ 
portance,  the  fire  alarm  operator,  or  officials  at  the  head¬ 
quarters,  keep  in  touch  with  the  progress  of  the  fire  until 
it  is  extinguished  or  at  least  under  control.  Thus  it  may  not 
be  necessary  for  reporters  stationed  at  fire  headquar¬ 
ters  to  go  to  every  fire.  Within  a  few  minutes  the  operator 
may  receive  word  that  it  is  a  false  alarm  or  a  small  blaze 
which  was  easily  extinguished.  The  chief,  assistant  chief, 
or  captain  who  is  in  charge  of  the  fire,  after  it  is  extin¬ 
guished  make  an  investigation  and  on  his  return  to  the  en¬ 
gine  house  sends  a  written  report  to  fire  headquarters.  These 
reports  are  given  to  the  reporters,  who  should  scan  them 
for  some  feature  that  will  make  a  story,  just  as  the  police 
reporter  goes  over  the  reports  submitted  to  him.  In  case  of 
fires  where  the  loss  is  great  or  there  are  accidents,  loss  of 
life  or  narrow  escapes,  reporters  should  not  depend  on  the 
details  furnished  by  the  firemen,  but  should  go  to  the  scene 
of  the  fire  at  once,  watch  its  progress  and  make  his  own 
investigation.  In  covering  a  fire  of  importance,  these  are  the 
chief  features  to  be  noted : 


Cause 

Loss  or  Damage 
Accidents 
Narrow  Escapes 
Insurance 


Water  Pressure 

How  Firemen  Worked 

Occupants 

Notes  or  Incidents 

Question  of  Rebuilding 


The  details  of  a  big  fire  are  so  numerous  that  for  one  re¬ 
porter  to  cover  the  story  would  be  a  difficult  task.  Each 


112 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


of  the  features  mentioned  above  must  be  investigated  as  if 
they  were  individual  stories.  So,  when  the  reporter  reaches 
the  scene  of  a  fire  and  finds  that  it  is  one  of  great  extent, 
he  is  expected  to  notify  his  office  and  additional  reporters 
will  be  sent  to  aid  him.  This  is  not  only  true  of  fires, 
but  of  big  accidents,  and  other  stories  of  importance  where 
there  are  many  details  to  be  procured.  It  is  not  uncommon 
that  half  a  dozen  reporters  from  one  paper,  will  work  on 
such  stories  at  the  same  time,  especially  if  the  time  before  the 
paper  goes  to  press  is  limited. 

Fire  stories  serve  as  good  illustrations  of  the  judging  of 
the  importance  of  events  from  a  newspaper’s  viewpoint.  As 
generally  supposed,  the  financial  loss  or  loss  of  life  in  a 
fire  are  not  the  only  elements  that  gauge  the  importance  of 
the  story.  All  other  features  must  be  considered.  Charles 
Hemstreet  notes  the  following  instance : 

That  death  is  by  no  means  the  acme  of  human 
interest  in  the  eyes  of  the  editors  was  aptly  shown, 
a  short  time  ago,  by  the  accounts  of  two  fires  which 
occurred  within  a  few  days  of  each  other.  In  one 
two  people  were  burned  to  death,  and  three  others 
so  severely  injured  that  they  were  removed  to  a 
hospital  where  they  were  confined  for  weeks.  The 
damage  amounted  to  $10,000. 

In  the  second  fire  not  a  person  was  injured  and 
the  damage  was  only  $500.  Still,  the  second  fire 
was  given  twice  as  much  space  as  the  other. 

The  fatal  fire  occurred  in  a  dyeing  establishment. 

It  was  started  by  an  explosion  of  benzine  in  the 
basement  and  soon  cut  off  the  escape  of  twenty 
people  who  worked  on  the  upper  floors.  Firemen 
extinguished  the  flames  and  found  the  dead  and 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS. 


113 


injured  in  the  building.  This  was  an  ordinary  story, 
the  chief  interest  lying  in  the  fact  that  several 
people  were  burned  to  death.  The  story  was  given 
half  a  column. 

The  other  story,  which  was  given  a  column,  was 
of  a  fire  in  an  Italian  tenement  at  3  o’clock  in  the 
morning.  The  flames  broke  out  in  a  room  where 
the  tenants  had  erected  a  shrine  of  worship.  Police¬ 
men  had  difficulty  in  arousing  the  sleeping  people 
and  they  became  panic  stricken.  Two  children 
failed  to  get  out  of  the  building  by  way  of  the  stairs, 
and  when  the  smoke  became  too  dense  to  permit 
of  their  leaving  the  room,  they  had  to  be  taken  to 
the  roof  by  firemen  by  means  of  great  hooks.  When 
the  fire  was  extinguished,  it  was  found  that  jewelry 
that  had  been  in  the  shrine  room  was  missing. 

Here  was  a  story  abounding  in  human  interest. 

Not  only  were  lives  endangered,  but  rescues  were 
made  in  a  novel  manner. 

In  fire  stories  the  police  often  are  a  great  aid  tu  -re¬ 
porters.  In  most  cities  police  headquarters  are  notified  of 
all  fires  and  officers  are  sent  to  handle  the  crowds  or  as¬ 
sist  in  caring  for  bodies  or  injured  persons  in  case  of  ac¬ 
cidents.  They  keep  the  commanding  officers  of  the  district 
informed  and  from  those  at  the  scene  of  the  fire  the  re¬ 
porters  may  gather  interesting  details.  In  some  cities  there 
are  installed  in  the  newspaper  offices  signal  boxes,  which 
register  every  alarm  and  its  location.  This  method  is  used 
as  a  precaution  against  missing  or  failing  to  get  the  news 
of  a  fire  quickly,  when  a  reporter  is  not  stationed  at  fire 
headquarters  constantly  but,  instead,  makes  frequent  visits. 
8 


114 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISE 


Civic  Associations.  Almost  every  city  has  at  least  one, 
and  often  three  or  four,  organizations  formed  and  main¬ 
tained  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  interests  of  the 
city,  commercially  and  in  affairs  relating  to  municipal  gov¬ 
ernment.  These  associations  are  known  by  various  names, 
such  as  City  Club,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Merchants’  As¬ 
sociation,  etc.  The  headquarters  or  offices  of  the  secretary 
or  other  officials  are  visited  every  day  by  reporters  who 
procure  important  news  of  proposed  improvements  or  pro¬ 
jects  tending  to  aid  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  the  bet¬ 
terment  of  life  within  the  city.  He  may  learn,  also,  the  first 
news  of  changes  contemplated  in  the  city’s  government, 
new  ordinances  that  will  be  submitted  to  the  city  adminis¬ 
tration,  plans  for  new  parks  or  boulevards,  factories  or  busi¬ 
ness  interests  that  are  to  come  to  the  city  and  many  other 
facts  of  a  similar  nature.  Such  associations  act  independently 
of  any  political  faith  and  the  actions  taken  reflect  the  senti¬ 
ment  of  the  business  men  of  the  city  toward  civic  ques¬ 
tions.  As  a  source  of  news  by  which  the  newspapers 
keep  the  public  informed  of  the  city’s  progress  and  de¬ 
velopment,  these  associations,  then,  are,  important.  The 
secretary  of  an  organization  of  this  kind  generally  main¬ 
tains  an  office  at  the  headquarters.  As  a  rule,  he  will  be 
able  to  supply  the  facts  for  a  story  but  often  the  reporter 
will  find  it  necessary  to  find  the  president  or  members  of 
various  committees.  The  meetings  of  these  associations 
also  are  attended  by  reporters. 

Hospitals.  Deaths,  unusual  cases  from  a  medical  or 
surgical  viewpoint,  news  of  accidents  and  reports  of  cer¬ 
tain  patients  in  which  the  public  is  interested,  are  some 
of  the  chief  elements  that  make  up  the  news  a  reporter 
may  expect  to  obtain  from  the  hospitals.  There  are  two 
classes  of  hospitals,  public  and  private.  The  public  hospitals 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


115 


are  those  maintained  by  the  city,  county,  state  or  govern¬ 
ment  including  the  emergency  hospitals,  where  first  aid  is 
given,  and  those  where  patients  who  are  unable  to  pay  for 
medical  or  surgical  treatment,  are  received  for  an  indefinite 
period.  The  reporter,  when  assigned  to  the  hospital  run, 
should  first  learn  the  name  and  location  of  the  leading  hos¬ 
pitals  for  in  a  large  city  it  may  be  impossible  for  him  to  visit 
all  of  them.  After  making  the  rounds  of  the  important 
ones,  or  as  many  of  them  as  possible,  he  must  depend  on 
the  telephone  in  gathering  news  from  the  others. 

The  best  source  of  news  at  a  hospital  is  the  house  sur¬ 
geon,  or  if  he  should  be  too  busy,  then  his  assistants.  Cases 
of  ordinary  illness  are  not  written  unless  the  patient  is  a 
person  of  prominence.  Occasionally  the  reporter  will  learn 
of  accidents,  news  of  which  has  not  reached  his  news¬ 
paper  through  the  medium  of  the  police.  Illness  from  a 
rare  disease,  or  an  unusual  operation,  furnish  material  for 
stories.  Not  infrequently  the  reporter  learns  of  deaths. 

In  hospitals,  too,  may  be  found  much  material  for  human 
interest  stories.  Here,  naturally,  pathos  is  the  theme,  a 
theme  that  is  overworked,  perhaps,  but  still  holds  its  in¬ 
terest  if  it  is  well  presented.  Among  the  children  patients, 
especially,  are  many  incidents  of  courage  and  suffering 
that  are  worth  writing.  Such  stories  are  often  obtained. 

United  States  Government  Offices.  Grouped  in  one 
building,  the  federal  building  or  postoffice  as  it  is  called 
in  the  average  city,  will  be  found  the  headquarters  for  the 
various  government  officials  for  that  city  and  territory. 
These  include  the  postmaster,  United  States  marshal,  district 
attorney,  collector,  customs  officer,  district  clerk,  commis¬ 
sioner,  postoffice  inspector  federal  judge  and  federal  court. 
All  such  offices  are  visited  once  or  twice  a  day  by  the 
reporter  assigned  to  the  run,  and  from  the  officials 


116 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  news  he  obtains,  in  a  general  way,  relates  to  work 
the  government  is  doing  in  the  immediate  territory,  news 
of  the  mail  service,  criminal  proceedings  instituted  by  the 
government,  bankruptcy  cases  and  others  within  federal 
jurisdiction,  arrests  on  government  charges,  revenues,  in¬ 
vestigations  of  postoffices  and  similar  news. 

Of  these  places  the  most  important,  probably,  is  the  fed¬ 
eral  court.  Through  bankruptcy  suits  often  comes  the 
first  news  of  large  business  failures,  stories  of  which 
should  include  the  cause,  amount  involved,  conditions  and 
history  of  the  business,  as  well  as  statements  from  the 
principals  in  the  case.  In  the  federal  courts  are  tried 
persons  held  on  charges  of  violation  of  the  federal  laws 
and  the  cases  often  involve  persons  of  prominence  or  crimes 
of  a  serious  nature.  The  United  States  district  attorney 
is  the  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  government,  and 
through  his  office  the  news  of  criminal  proceedings  or  in¬ 
vestigations  often  may  be  learned  in  advance,  but  seldom 
is  anything  written  about  them  until  arrests  are  made  or 
the  case  is  in  the  hands  of  the  court.  At  regular  inter¬ 
vals  federal  grand  juries  are  drawn  and  persons  indicted 
for  various  crimes  or  offenses.  The  details  of  all  such  pro¬ 
ceedings  must  be  learned  by  the  reporter  who  sifts  out  the 
important  from  the  unimportant,  or  those  worthy  of  a  news 
story.  Petitions  in  the  civil  suits  are  on  file  in  the  office 
of  the  clerk  of  the  court,  and  from  these  the  reporter  gets 
facts  for  news  stories. 

Often  the  suits  brought  are  merely  formal  proceedings 
of  no  general  interest  and  nothing  is  written  about  them. 
Others  are  worthy  of  only  brief  stories,  for  which 
the  petitions  and  other  documents  filed  furnish  enough 
facts ;  and  still  others  are  of  such  importance  that  it  will 
be  necessary  for  the  reporter  to  see  the  principals  or  their 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


117 


attorneys  to  gather  more  details.  When  the  federal  court 
is  in  session  and  the  case  on  trial  is  one  that  is  important 
because  of  its  news  value,  the  reporter  should  be  in  the 
court  room  continuously,  watching  for  the  details  and  tes¬ 
timony  that  is  of  general  interest  to  the  public  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  case. 

From  the  United  States  marshal  or  his  deputies  the 
reporter  gets  the  news  of  all  arrests  for  violations  of  the 
federal  laws  made  in  the  district.  Those  arrests  may  not 
be  made  in  the  city,  but  any  place  in  the  marshal’s  terri¬ 
tory.  The  marshal  is  notified  as  soon  as  the  arrest  is 
made,  although  it  may  be  in  a  town  twenty  miles  away, 
and  he  is  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  facts  in  the  case  to 
furnish  information.  Arraignments  of  prisoners  held  on 
federal  charges,  in  many  instances,  are  before  the  United 
States  commissioner,  who  conducts  preliminary  inquiries, 
releasing  the  prisoners  on  bond  or  holding  them  for  trial. 
Here,  as  in  the  justice’s  courts,  much  material  for  stories, 
or  additional  facts  in  cases  already  noted,  may  be  found 
by  reporters. 

The  kind  of  news  supplied  by  the  postmaster  will  vary 
little,  perhaps.  He  may  tell  of  changes  or  improvements 
in  the  mail  service  or  of  new  regulations  made  at  the 
national  capital,  etc.  Any  happenings  or  incidents  in  the 
work  of  the  mail  system  of  which  he  is  at  the  head  are  re¬ 
ported  to  him  by  those  in  charge  of  the  various  depart¬ 
ments  and  often  stories  of  interest  along  these  lines  may 
be  obtained  from  him.  The  postmaster  also  keeps  in 
touch  with  the  growth  and  development  of  the  city. 
Stories  from  his  records,  compiled  by  the  heads  of  the 
various  departments  under  him,  are  available,  especially 
when  they  tend  to  show  rapid  or  steady  growth  in  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  city  and  receipts  of  his  office. 


118 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  tracing  of  mail  robberies,  the  inspection  of  post- 
offices,  and  the  investigation  of  irregularities  in  the  service 
are  a  few  of  the  chief  duties  of  the  postoffice  inspectors. 
Their  work  is  really  that  of  secret  service  men  and  seldom 
do  they  make  public  the  work  they  are  carrying  on,  unless 
it  has  resulted  in  arrest  or  in  formal  charges  being  pre¬ 
ferred. 

The  foregoing  list  of  government  officials  may  be  found 
in  nearly  every  city  and  in  addition  there  may  be  the  offices 
of  government  engineers,  steamship  inspectors,  and  others 
who  can  furnish  news.  The  United  States  sub-treasuries, 
also,  are  sources  of  news  in  those  cities  where  they  are 
located. 

Theaters.  The  task  of  gathering  news  of  actors  and 
plays  may  not  fall  to  the  reporter,  for  the  methods  of  news¬ 
papers  differ  in  the  work  of  getting  this  class  of  news.  On 
some  newspapers  all  criticisms  and  news  are  handled  by 
a  special  department.  On  other  papers,  however,  only  the 
criticisms  are  written  by  a  special  writer,  the  theatrical 
critic,  and  the  news  is  obtained  by  the  reporter.  The 
theaters,  in  such  a  case,  constitute  a  run  and  the  reporter 
visits  the  leading  playhouses  each  night  of  the  theatrical 
season.  He  becomes  acquainted  with  the  theater  managers 
who,  as  a  class,  are  not  only  willing,  but  eager  to  give  him 
stories  or  aid  him  in  getting  them,  because  of  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  publicity.  In  fact,  the  manager  employs  a  pub¬ 
licity  man  (the  press  agent)  for  just  such  purposes.  Much 
has  been  written,  humorously  or  otherwise,  as  to  the  laxity 
of  these  press  agent  in  the  matters  of  truth,  but  without 
attempting  here  to  judge  this  question,  the  fact  remains 
— the  newspapers  depend  on  their  own  reporters  or  writers 
for  theatrical  news.  The  reporter  receives  valuable  aid 
and  suggestions  from  the  press  agents,  but  the  stories  are 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


119 


written  and  turned  over  to  the  city  editor  by  him  only 
after  a  personal  investigation  of  the  facts.  Though  this  be 
true,  the  press  agent  is  invaluable  to  the  institution  or  per¬ 
son  whom  he  represents.  Having  training  in  newspaper 
work,  his  suggestions  for  stories  are  often  woith  while 
and  at  least  investigated,  while  his  duties  in  what  is  prop¬ 
erly  the  advertising  field  are  many. 

News  or  feature  stories,  the  reporter  should  know,  are 
not  to  be  obtained  from  the  front  of  the  theater.  He  has 
not  been  assigned  to  the  theaters  to  write  about  the  per¬ 
formance.  The  theater  manager  or  the  manager  of  the 
company  may  know  of  something  worth  while  writing 
about  or  suggest  some  news  that  may  be  obtained  from 
some  of  the  actors.  The  reporter  will  be  able  to  see  these 
actors  off  the  stage  and  talk  with  them.  Hence  his  work 
in  gathering  news  becomes  similar  to  that  of  the  hotel  re¬ 
porter.  A  noted  actor,  if  he  has  not  already  been  inter¬ 
viewed  at  the  hotel,  or  by  a  reporter  especially  assigned  to 
see  him,  generally  can  give  a  story.  It  is  by  mingling  and 
talking  with  actors  that  the  reporter  picks  up  the  little  in¬ 
cidents  of  life  in  the  stage  experiences  that  are  humorous 
or  pathetic,  or  news  stories.  Stories  of  theatrical  folk,  if 
they  are  of  good  quality  and  well  written,  especially  about 
players  who  are  widely  known,  are  read  extensively,  editors 
have  learned.  Those  who  have  seen  the  actors  on  the  stage 
like  to  know  something  of  them  off  the  stage.  News 
stories,  naturally,  should  be  the  reporter’s  chief  aim,  but 
if  they  are  not  available,  then  those  stories  that  afford  a 
glimpse  of  their  life  and  work.  In  this  sense  actors,  those 
who  are  known  to  the  public,  at  least,  bear  the  same  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  reporter  as  does  the  man  in  public  life. 

And,  finally,  the  reporter  whose  duty  it  is  to  gather 
these  stories  of  plays  and  actors  will  find  that  he  has  not 


120 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


an  easy  task,  for  his  human  interest  stories  must  be  excep¬ 
tionally  good  if  they  are  accepted.  The  newspapers  gener¬ 
ally  have  printed  so  many  stories  of  this  sort  that  the  ten¬ 
dency  of  readers  of  the  present  day  is  to  say :  “That’s 
only  a  press  agent  story,”  meaning  a  story  invented  or 
written  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  actor  before  the 
public.  To  have  his  story  accepted  then,  the  reporter  must 
procure  incidents  in  which  the  news  or  human  interest  over¬ 
shadows  completely  any  element  of  advertising,  and  by  use 
of  details  guard  against  this  tendency  of  the  public  to  con¬ 
sider  them  unauthentic. 

County  Officials — Courts.  Every  day,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  holidays,  the  county  courthouse,  in  which  are  the 
courts  generally  and  the  offices  of  the  various  county  offi¬ 
cials,  is  a  source  of  much  news.  A  reporter  for  each 
paper  is  on  duty  in  the  building  continuously  and  in  some 
cases  more  than  one.  To  successfully  gather  the  news 
on  the  courthouse  run,  it  is  necessary  that  die  reporter 
know  what  officials  and  courts  he  will  find  and  something 
about  their  duties.  A  list  of  the  officials  and  courts  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Clerk  of  the  county  court,  clerk  of  the  circuit  or  district  court, 
recorder  of  deeds,  sheriff,  coroner,  assessor,  public  administrator, 
surveyor,  engineer,  treasurer,  school  commissioner  and  prosecuting 
attorney. 

County  court,  probate  court  and  the  various  divisions  of  the  cir¬ 
cuit  or  district  court. 

While  a  large  per  cent  of  the  news  probably  will  come 
from  the  courts,  the  reporter  must  make  regular  visits  to 
the  offices  of  the  county  officials.  From  the  clerk  of 
the  county  court  may  be  obtained  all  proceedings  of  the 
county  court,  many  of  which  are  of  a  routine  sort,  while 
others  may  be  worth  a  story.  News  of  school  funds,  col¬ 
lection  of  revenue,  and  stories  pertaining  to  elections,  may 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


121 


also  be  gathered  in  his  office.  With  the  clerk  of  the  cir¬ 
cuit  court  or  district  court  are  filed  all  the  petitions  in  the 
suits  brought  before  that  court.  Each  of  these  petitions 
must  be  read  carefully  by  the  reporter.  In  these  courts 
are  brought  many  suits  of  importance  from  a  news  value 
— proceedings  involving  large  sums  of  money,  damage 
suits,  suits  to  break  wills,  litigation  over  large  estates  and 
other  cases.  The  first  news  of  such  suits  comes  to  the  re¬ 
porter  when  the  petitions  are  filed.  As  was  noted  in  the 
case  of  the  federal  courts,  the  petitions  may  furnish 
enough  facts  for  a  story  or  the  reporter  may  find  the  liti¬ 
gation  to  be  of  such  importance  that  it  will  be  necessary  to 
gather  other  details  from  the  attorneys  or  principals.  In 
any  event,  the  reporter  should  scan  every  petition  filed, 
keeping  in  mind  the  prominence  of  the  litigants,  or  the 
amount  involved,  and  watching  for  the  unusual  features. 
From  other  work  of  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court,  such 
as  the  execution  of  judgments,  stories  may  develop. 

Stories  of  transfers  of  property,  in  cases  where  the 
amount  of  money  involved  is  large,  come  from  the  office 
of  the  recorder  of  deeds.  The  recorder  also  issues  and 
records  all  marriage  licenses. 

The  sheriff  can  give  news  of  arrests  in  the  county.  The 
news  from  the  offices  of  the  treasurer,  collector  and  assessor 
relate  principally  to  matters  of  taxation  and  revenue.  The 
county  surveyor  and  county  engineer  furnish  news  of  im¬ 
provements  and  road-building,  and  the  news  of  the  county 
schools  comes  from  the  county  school  commissioner.  Mat¬ 
ters  relating  to  the  disposition  of  estates,  where  no  exec¬ 
utors  have  been  named,  sometimes  furnish  material  for 
news  that  may  be  obtained  from  the  public  administrator. 

In  counties  where  a  large  city  is  located,  there  may  be 
several  divisions  of  the  circuit  or  district  court  and  cases 


122 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


may  be  on  trial  in  each  at  the  same  time.  Mention  has  al¬ 
ready  been  made  of  the  nature  of  these  cases.  Where  the 
case  is  of  general  public  interest,  it  is  essential  that  the  re¬ 
porter  be  present  to  hear  at  least  a  part  of  the  testimony 
given.  It  is  not  enough,  if  it  is  a  law  suit  that  has  at¬ 
tracted  wide  attention,  that  he  wiite  merely  the  facts  that 
the  case  is  on  trial  or  give  the  verdict.  His  story  should 
include  the  testimony  that  is  of  interest,  incidents  that  may 
arise  among  the  lawyers  or  witnesses,  new  motions  filed, 
or  other  events  of  the  trial. 

The  county  court  is  the  governing  body  for  the  county. 
It  is  not  a  judicial  body  and  before  it  few  cases  are  tried, 
but  it  gives  public  hearings  to  persons  who  have  griev¬ 
ances  against  the  county.  From  the  members  of  this  court, 
or  the  record  of  proceedings  in  the  clerk’s  office,  comes 
the  news  relating  to  the  affairs  of  the  county  government. 

Disputes  over  wills  and  estates  come  within  the  province 
of  the  probate  court.  Many  stories  of  the  unusual  bequests 
and  provisions  are  procured  from  the  wills  filed  in  the 
probate  court.  Also  the  reporter  learns  of  the  value  of 
estates  left  by  widely  known  persons.  Appointments  of 
guardians  and  the  adjudging  of  persons  insane,  in  some 
instances,  afford  material  in  the  probate  court  for  stories. 

In  considering  the  courthouse  as  a  source  of  news,  the 
reporter  must  not  have  the  false  idea  that  the  news  he  will 
gather  has  no  relation  to  affairs  of  the  city.  Although 
the  courts  are  state  courts  and  the  officials  are  employed 
by  the  county,  they  have  to  do  chiefly  with  the  people  of 
the  city  and  the  news  then  is  of  great  interest.  It  is  “local 
news.”  The  names  of  the  state  courts  may  vary,  depending 
on  the  state  in  which  the  city  is  located,  but  in  every  city 
the  same  class  of  courts  or  courts  with  the  same  jurisdiction 
will  be  found.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned,  there  may  be 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


123 


in  the  city  a  court  of  appeals  or  the  supreme  court  of  the 
state.  These  are  watched  closely  by  the  newspapers  for 
opinions  rendered  in  cases  of  wide  interest. 

Criminal  Court — Jail — Prosecuting  Attorney.  The 
work  of  gathering  news  of  crime  is  not  confined  wholly 
to  the  police  reporters.  While  the  police  may  make  a  large 
proportion  of  the  arrests,  many  of  them  are  the  results 
of  charges  filed  by  the  prosecuting,  circuit  or  district  at¬ 
torneys.  Arrests,  also,  may  be  made  by  special  officers  or 
detectives  who  work  under  the  direction  of  the  prosecut¬ 
ing  attorney.  The  office  of  the  prosecuting  attorney,  with 
the  assistants  and  special  officers,  is,  in  reality,  a  separate 
police  department.  The  news  to  be  obtained  is  often  of 
importance,  including  chiefly  arrests  or  indictments  for 
murders,  assaults,  or  any  crime  in  violation  of  the  state 
laws ;  search  for  persons  accused  of  crime ;  investigations 
of  reported  crimes;  gathering  of  evidence  in  criminal  cases 
and  news  of  similar  nature.  The  trials  of  all  such  cases 
are  in  the  criminal  court  with  the  prosecuting  attorney, 
or  his  assistants,  acting  as  attorney  for  the  state.  In 
gathering  the  news  from  this  court  the  reporter  will  find 
it  necessary  to  follow  the  same  general  method  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  civil  courts — he  must  be  familiar 
with  the  case  on  trial  and  give  the  evidence  and  incidents 
of  the  proceedings  in  proportion  to  its  importance  or  the 
interest  the  case  may  have  aroused.  In  addition  to  these 
trials,  the  reporter  will  find  stories  of  the  arraignment  of 
prisoners,  release  of  prisoners  on  bond,  and  other  proceed¬ 
ings. 

In  some  cities,  in  connection  with  the  criminal  court,  a 
juvenile  court  is  maintained  for  the  trial  of  minors. 

In  the  county  jail  are  lodged  the  prisoners  held  on 
state  charges  and  the  incidents  of  prison  life  not  infre- 


124 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


qucntly  furnish  material  for  stories.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  prisoners  who  are  widely  known  or  those  held 
in  connection  with  cases  of  importance.  The  county 
marshal  or  the  county  sheriff  may  take  prisoners  to  the 
jail  and  the  first  news  of  such  arrests  is  obtained  from  the 
officer  in  charge  of  the  prison. 

Industrial  Headquarters.  In  recent  years  the  organi¬ 
zation  of  the  laboring  people  has  been  perfected  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  headquarters  of  the  various  unions 
or  labor  organizations  has  become  a  source  of  news  in  a 
limited  way  for  newspapers.  News  of  strikes  possibly  will 
be  most  important  material  for  stories  that  the  reporter 
will  find.  Action  declaring  strikes  and  looking  toward  their 
final  settlement  is  generally  taken  by  the  high  officers  of  the 
labor  council  and  such  news  is  to  be  obtained  from  the 
industrial  headquarters.  While  many  meetings  are  held 
and  actions  are  taken  on  various  subjects,  they  deal  chiefly 
with  unimportant  affairs  regarding  the  individual  organ¬ 
izations,  and  only  those  that  have  to  do  with  a  labor  or 
political  movement  or  concerning  the  affairs  of  the  city  at 
large  are  recorded. 

City  Hall.  In  a  general  way,  all  news  gathered  at  the 
city  hall  has  to  do  with  the  government  of  the  city.  Here, 
as  at  the  courthouse,  one  or  more  reporters  are  on  duty 
continuously  for  each  paper.  A  list  of  the  more  important 
officials  who  may  have  headquarters  in  the  building  follows : 

Mayor,  assessor,  collector,  treasurer,  clerk,  attorney,  engineer, 
street  commissioner,  health  officer,  park  commissioner  or  members 
of  the  park  board,  comptroller,  counselor,  public  utilities  commis¬ 
sioner,  board  of  public  works,  and  building  superintendent,  etc. 

The  duties  of  the  mayor  of  a  city  are  generally  known. 
Since,  as  executive  head  of  the  city,  he  is  in  touch  with 
all  affairs  pertaining  to  its  government,  it  is  natural  that 
many  important  stories  are  furnished  the  reporter  by  him. 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


125 


The  reporter  should  consider  the  mayor  as  the  proper 
source  of  information  for  all  important  affairs  affecting 
the  city  government.  The  reporter  should  know  what  im¬ 
portant  problems  the  mayor  is  considering  and  watch  for 
the  news  of  the  final  settlement  of  such  problems.  As  a 
rule,  the  mayor  is  seen  personally  as  often  as  is  possible 
and  his  office  is  visited  frequently  during  the  day  for  in¬ 
formation  that  may  be  supplied  by  his  secretary  or  others. 

As  in  the  ca.se  of  the  county  officials,  the  assessor,  treas¬ 
urer  and  collector  are  concerned  chiefly  with  the  finances  of 
the  city. 

The  city  attorney  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  city  in 
the  matter  of  prosecutions  for  criminal  offenses  as  the 
prosecuting  attorney  does  in  the  state  cases.  News  of  in¬ 
vestigations  and  arrests  for  such  offenses  against  the  ordi¬ 
nances  of  the  city  may  be  obtained  from  him. 

General  news  as  to  the  progress  and  development  of  the 
city  along  physical  lines,  as  well  as  plans  for  new  improve¬ 
ments,  may  be  obtained  from  the  city  engineer,  building 
superintendent,  street  commissioner  and  park  commission¬ 
er.  News  relating  to  the  regulation  of  public  utilities  will 
come  from  the  members  of  the  public  utilities  commission, 
where  the  city  has  such  a  commision. 

New  ordinances  to  come  up  from  consideration  are  often 
drawn  by  the  counselor,  or  at  least  he  passes  on  their 
legality,  hence  he  is  able  to  furnish  news  of  proposed 
measures  in  advance  of  their  consideration.  His  office 
handles  numerous  other  matters  of  a  legal  character  that 
oroduce  stories.  The  enforcement  of  health  measures  is 
left  to  the  health  officer,  who  has  power  to  order  arrests  in 
many  cases. 

The  board  of  public  works  has  charge  of  the  water,  light¬ 
ing  or  other  plants  owned  by  the  city.  The  apportionment 


126 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


of  the  city’s  funds  and  other  work  of  a  similar  nature  is 
done  by  the  comptroller.  While  these  are  the  more  im¬ 
portant  of  the  officials  to  be  found  in  the  city  hall,  there 
may  be  others,  such  as  city  chemist,  license  inspector,  or 
food  inspector.  The  offices  created  in  the  various  cities 
differ  only  slightly,  however.  All  are  visited  regularly 
by  the  c,ity  hall  reporter  in  his  search  for  news. 

The  legislative  bodies  of  cities  are  known  by  various 
names,  such  as  board  of  aldermen,  municipal  assembly, 
house  of  delegates,  house  of  the  common  council,  etc.  The 
meetings  generally  are  held  at  night  and  it  quite  often  falls 
to  the  lot  of  the  city  hall  reporter  to  attend  them,  because 
of  his  general  knowledge  of  conditions  and  affairs  pertain¬ 
ing  to  the  city  government.  He  will  be  furnished  help 
by  the  city  editor  whenever  necessary,  for  in  some  in¬ 
stances  there  are  two  organizations,  say,  an  upper  and  lower 
house,  and  the  meetings  of  each  are  held  at  the  same  time. 
In  these  sessions  much  routine  business,  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary  for  the  reporter  to  note,  is  transacted.  For 
instance,  the  fact  that  the  counsel  orders  a  sidewalk  built 
in  front  of  a  certain  man’s  property  is  of  interest  to  only 
half  a  dozen  persons,  perhaps,  and  not  worthy  of  a  story 
for  the  large  city  daily.  In  the  small  town,  as  already 
noted,  it  might  be  news.  Such  proceedings  of  the  council 
in  which  many  citizens,  or  the  city  as  a  whole,  are  interested, 
furnish  material  for  stories.  Where  the  city  hall  reporter 
is  busy  gathering  news  from  the  various  departments  dur¬ 
ing  the  day,  he  should  keep  the  city  editor  informed  of  all 
special  meetings,  or  meetings  of  board  and  committies, 
where  news  of  importance  is  likely  to  develop.  Such  meet¬ 
ings  then  will  be  attended  by  reporters  sent  from  the  office. 

To  successfully  cover  the  city  hall  run.  it  will  be  seen, 
that  a  reporter  should  have  a  general  knowledge,  at  least, 


SOURCES  OF  NEWS 


127 


of  municipal  government;  that  he  should  know  the  con¬ 
ditions  and  problems  that  confront  the  city ;  that  he  should 
be  able  to  judge  the  importance  of  franchises  and  other 
measures  in  their  relation  to  the  city’s  welfare,  and  that 
he  should  knew  every  official  who  has  any  duty  of  im¬ 
portance  in  the  transaction  of  the  city’s  business. 

Union  Station.  In  the  work  of  gathering  news  at  a 
union  railway  station,  especially  the  problem  of  inter¬ 
viewing  noted  persons  who  are  in  the  city  only  for  a  few 
minutes  or  “between  trains,”  there  enters  an  element  of 
chance.  But  the  reporter  on  a  run  of  this  kind  even  does 
not  work  aimlessly,  wandering  through  the  crowd  and  the 
rush  of  travelers,  depending  entirely  on  his  ability  to 
recognize  such  persons.  From  the  first  day  that  the  run 
has  been  assigned  to  him,  he  should,  along  with  his  daily 
task  of  gathering  news,  begin  to  make  friends  with  those 
employed  at  the  station.  He  should  know  the  ticket  sellers, 
ushers,  gatemen,  members  of  the  train  crew,  those  at  the 
information  bureau,  and  all  railway  officials  at  the  station. 
It  is  not  often  that  a  man  who  is  widely  known  will  be 
in  the  union  station  long  without  some  of  these  employes 
learning  it.  By  coming  in  contact  with  the  travelers  con¬ 
stantly,  they  also  pick  up  much  information  that  is  avail¬ 
able  for  stories,  or  can  point  out  to  the  reporters  persons 
who  may  have  information  worth  getting.  So,  it  is  clear 
that  on  this  run,  as  on  all  others,  there  is  a  method  of 
working. 

The  reporter  should  remember,  too,  that  in  addition  to 
the  news  stories  there  are  the  little  incidents,  the  things 
of  human  interest,  that  are  always  to  be  gathered  where 
there  is  a  crowd,  especially  a  crcwd  of  hurrying  travelers. 

News  of  wrecks  near  the  city  or  in  the  railroad  yards, 
often  is  first  learned  at  the  union  station  from  trainmen  or 


128 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  office  of  the  superintendents.  Investigation  of  trains 
marked  “delayed”  also  may  develop  news  of  accidents. 
While  private  cars  in  the  present  day  are  common,  an  in¬ 
vestigation  of  the  arrival  of  one  at  the  station  may  result 
in  learning  of  the  presence  of  railway  officials  or  persons 
of  prominence,  who  can  give  stories.  The  matron  at  the 
station  may  furnish  news  and  should  be  included  among 
those  the  reporter  visits  on  his  regular  rounds. 

As  was  mentioned  in  discussing  the  hotel  run,  few  per¬ 
sonals  are  printed  by  the  metropolitan  papers,  so  the  arrival 
or  departure  of  the  ordinary  traveler  is  not  regarded  as  a 
news  story,  except  for  country  newspapers. 

Other  Sources.  Those  places  which  have  been  consider¬ 
ed  separately  are  the  ones  watched  closely  by  the  news¬ 
papers  in  cities  of  average  size  and  reporters  are  on  duty 
continuously ;  or  they  are  assigned  to  visit  them  once  a  day 
or  at  intervals  during  the  day.  It  should  be  repeated,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  list  may  differ  in  the  various  cities  and  that 
the  names  of  courts,  for  instance,  or  the  titles  of  the  officials 
given  will  not  be  the  same.  It  may  be,  too,  that  in  a 
few  cities  other  places  are  watched  just  as  closely  and  are 
equally  important.  As  an  example,  in  a  seaport  ship  news 
is  gathered  and  the  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels  are  re¬ 
ported,  with  stories  concerning  passengers  and  voyages. 
In  other  cities  there  may  be  additional  offices  of  the  state 
or  national  government. 

Besides  those  runs,  however,  there  are  other  places  on 
which  the  newspapers  depend  for  news,  but  they  may  noc 
be  visited  by  reporters  every  day.  As  an  example,  the 
charity  organizations,  with  their  outings  for  children  in  the 
summer  and  their  care  of  destitute  families  in  winter,  may 
furnish  news.  At  intervals  also  the  offices  of  the  leading 
architects  and  real  estate  dealers  will  be  visited  by  the  re- 


SOURCES  'OF  NEWS 


129 


porter  in  search  of  news  of  new  buildings  or  real  estate 
transactions.  Bankers  and  railway  officials  often  receive 
calls  from  reporters  who  are  seeking  financial  news  or  news 
of  the  railroads.  Political  headquarters  are  watched  during 
political  campaigns  and  the  offices  of  the  street  railway 
compan)  are  often  considered  a  source  of  news.  The  latter, 
on  some  newspapers,  is  included  in  the  regular  runs  and 
reporters  visit  the  general  headquarters  every  day  in  search 
of  news  relating  to  changes  or  improvements  in  service, 
accidents,  and  other  events.  When  election  time  is  near, 
the  office  of  the  election  board  may  be  put  on  the  regular 
assignment  list,  and  on  Sundays  the  churches  aid  in  furnish¬ 
ing  news.  From  these  lists  of  places  watched  by  news¬ 
papers  then,  and  the  nature  of  the  stories  gathered,  the  be¬ 
ginner  will  be  able  to  derive  some  knowledge  of  the  work 
of  the  reporter  relative  to  the  gathering  of  news  which 
comes  through  regular  channels. 


6 


IV.  ASSIGNMENTS 


The  work  of  gathering  news  is  by  no  means  confined 
wholly  to  a  search  for  stories  on  the  runs — those  places 
where  news  is  expected  to  develop.  A  paper  may  reasonably 
expect  to  obtain  the  general  trend  of  news  from  such 
sources,  but  the  search  does  not  end  there.  To  the  city 
editor,  through  various  ways  come  hints  or  suggestions 
for  stories ;  information  of  affairs  that  can  not  be  learned 
through  regular  channels;  advance  news  of  meetings,  con¬ 
ventions,  or  other  events,  and  word  of  fires,  accidents 
and  similar  happenings  which  should  be  covered  quickly 
and  independently  of  the  reporter  on  any  run,  in  case  such 
events  arise  on  a  run.  There  may  be  certain  persons  from 
whom  the  city  editor  desires  interviews  concerning  a  par¬ 
ticular  subject;  stories  already  published  which  he  desires 
to  investigate  more  thoroughly,  or  special  stories  about  con¬ 
ditions,  persons  or  events.  The  work  of  procuring  and 
writing  such  news  is  left  chiefly  to  the  reporters  who  are  not 
stationed  on  a  run,  and  who  work  on  what  is  commonly 
called  special  assignments,  although  a  reporter  on  a  run  may 
have  to  cover  a  limited  number  of  such  assignments.  In 
those  cities  where  the  news  from  the  runs  is  furnished  by 
press  associations,  all  work  of  the  reporters,  then,  comes 
under  the  head  of  special  assignments. 

In  the  majority  of  cases  the  beginner  in  news-gathering, 
perhaps,  will  be  given  a  run,  but  it  scarcely  can  be  said  that 
assignment  work  is  more  important,  that  is,  judging  from 
the  importance  of  the  news  to  be  obtained.  When  a  re¬ 
porter  starts  out  on  a  run,  he  knows  the  exact  locations  of 
the  places  he  will  visit,  the  person  from  whom  he  will 
gather  facts,  but  only  in  a  general  way  does  he  know  of 

130 


ASSIGNMENTS 


131 


what  news  he  will  find.  In  fact,  he  seldom  knows  of  a 
specific  story.  His  information  is  confined  merely  to  the 
nature  of  the  news  he  may  be  expected  to  get.  The  re¬ 
porter  who  is  assigned  to  get  a  particular  piece  of  news, 
will  be  told,  in  most  instances,  where  he  may  find  the  story 
and  enough  details  to  enable  him  to  know  specifically  what 
the  story  is.  Thus  the  chief  quality  each  must  have  is 
apparent.  Summing  it  up,  generally  and  without  taking  in¬ 
to  consideration  the  exceptions,  the  reporter  on  a  run  is  suc¬ 
cessful  when,  in  addition  to  all  other  qualifications,  he  has  the 
ability  to  ferret  out  news  of  which  he  has  no  previous  knowl¬ 
edge,  but  under  conditions  familiar  to  him.  The  success  of 
the  special  assignment  reporter  will  depend  much  on  his 
ability  to  meet  any  and  all  conditions.  But  he  will  be  aid¬ 
ed  by  the  fact  that  he  has  certain  knowledge  of  the  story  to 
be  obtained,  or  something  tangible  to  work  on.  It  should 
be  the  aim  of  those  who  enter  the  field  of  reporting  to 
develop  the  qualifications  which  will  fit  them  for  either  a 
run  or  a  special  assignment.  The  good  reporter,  the  one 
who  has  made  a  success  of  his  profession,  is  the  one  on 
whom  the  city  editor  can  depend  to  cover  any  assign¬ 
ment,  whether  a  run  or  a  special  story.  Unfortunately  in 
many  offices  not  all  have  developed  the  necessary  quali¬ 
fications  and  the  two  classes  of  reporters  have  developed. 
Such  a  division  of  the  work  of  reporting  is  not  due  to  the 
importance  of  the  news  to  be  obtained,  but  is  more  the 
result  of  ability  displayed  by  the  reporters.  The  city  editor 
of  a  metropblitan  paper  a  few  years  ago  had  this  experience 
which  shows  how  certain  qualities  are  developed  and  others 
neglected : 

An  Englishman  who  had  been  employed  by  an  Ameri¬ 
can  paper  about  a  week  was  told  to  interview  the  presi¬ 
dent  of  a  railroad  who  was  at  the  union  station  in  his 


132 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


private  car.  After  the  reporter  had  been  away  from  the 
office  about  an  hour,  he  reported  to  the  city  editor  that 
he  had  been  unable  to  find  the  car  which  had  been  placed 
on  some  side  track  in  the  railway  yards.  The  city  editor 
had  no  other  reporter  to  send  at  that  time.  He  told  the 
Englishman  to  keep  on  searching.  When,  half  an  hour 
later,  the  reporter  telephoned  again  that  he  had  not  suc¬ 
ceeded,  the  city  editor  still  had  no  other  reporter  avail¬ 
able,  so  he  arranged  by  telephone  for  an  official  of  the  rail¬ 
road  to  meet  the  reporter,  take  him  to  the  car  and  introduce 
him  to  the  railway  president.  The  reporter  returned  to  the 
office  with  an  interview  on  a  subject  which  the  railway 
magnate  had  heretofore  persistently  refused  to  discuss.  The 
reporter  had  succeeded  in  getting  a  particular  story  or 
interview  on  which  many  others  had  failed.  His  inter¬ 
view  was  timely,  it  was  handled  in  such  a  way  that  showed 
he  had  become  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  subject 
and  had  judged  the  importance  of  the  facts  in  their  re¬ 
lation  to  news,  and  the  story,  too,  was  well  written. 

Here  was  a  reporter  who  had  not  the  qualities  that  fitted 
him  for  every  phase  of  his  work  of  gathering  news.  In 
this  one  particular  instance,  he  showed  that  he  did  not 
have  the  ability  to  meet  conditions.  On  the  paper  by  which 
he  was  employed  he  was  not  used  again  to  cover  special 
assignments.  He  was  assigned  to  a  run  and,  from  the 
beginning,  was  successful  in  getting  news  on  that  run. 

The  information  on  which  the  city  editor  bases  an  as¬ 
signment  may  be  inaccurate  or  it  may  be  only  a  rumor 
which  will  prove  groundless.  So  the  reporter  who  is  doing 
assignment  work  will  not  always  find  the  conditions  and 
facts  to  be  what  the  city  editor  has  been  led  to  believe  they 
are.  But  the  reporter  should  not  stop  his  investigation 
when  he  finds  this  to  be  the  case.  A  little  probing  may 


ASSIGNMENTS 


133 


develop  that,  while  the  city  editor’s  facts  are  wrong,  there 
is  a  story,  although  it  may  be  of  an  entirely  different  na¬ 
ture  and  not  as  important.  In  other  words,  when  a  re¬ 
porter  receives  an  assignment,  he  should  never  return 
without  the  story,  until  by  a  thorough  investigation  he 
has  satisfied  himself  that  the  city  editor’s  information  was 
not  authentic.  Too  often,  beginners  have  a  tendency  to 
consider  that  they  have  done  something  that  reflects  to 
their  credit,  if  they  learn  that  the  city  editor’s  information 
is  wrong,  and,  in  rather  a  boastful  manner,  announce  on 
their  return  that  there  was  no  story.  It  should  be  re¬ 
membered  that  the  city  editor  takes  no  pride  in  the  mere 
fact  that  such  information  is  accurate.  His  sole  interest 
is  in  getting  a  story  and  a  good  story,  if  possible.  He 
overlooks  no  possible  chances,  even  to  the  extent  of  in¬ 
vestigating  rumors.  On  the  special  assignment  reporter 
falls  the  duty  of  investigating  such  rumors  or  informa¬ 
tion.  If  the  assignment  fails  to  develop  news,  the  re¬ 
porter  who  has  the  interest  of  his  paper  at  heart  and  is 
in  the  spirit  of  his  work,  will  feel  the  disappointment  of 
such  a  failure  as  keenly  as  the  city  editor  does.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  incident  serves  to  illustrate  the  necessity  of  making 
a  thorough  investigation  when  a  reporter  is  working  on  a 
special  assignment: 

Through  the  same  source  (a  physician  telephoned  the 
information)  the  city  editors  of  rival  afternoon  newspapers 
learned  that  two  children  of  a  family  in  a  certain  block 
were  dangerously  ill  after  drinking  impure  milk.  The  in¬ 
formant  would  not  give  his  name.  He  had  learned  of 
the  case  from  another  physician,  he  said,  and  did  not  know 
the  name  of  the  family.  Neither  would  he  give  the  name 
of  the  other  physician,  but  he  supplied  the  address  of  the 
family,  or,  at  least,  what  he  believed  to  be  the  address. 


134 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  city  editor  of  each  paper  sent  a  reporter  to  the  address 
given.  No  children  lived  in  the  house  and  the  woman 
resident  told  the  reporters  she  had  not  heard  of  such  a 
vcase  as  they  mentioned.  After  inquiring  at  one  or  two 
houses  adjoining,  one  of  the  reporters  returned  to  his  office, 
reported  that  he  had  made  an  investigation  and  that  no 
children  were  ill  in  that  neighborhood.  The  other  reporter 
continued  his  investigation — depending  much  on  an  ele¬ 
ment  of  chance.  By  extending  his  search  to  the  houses 
across  the  street  he  found  the  story.  One  of  the  children 
had  died  and  the  condition  of  the  other  was  critical.  But, 
through  the  inability  of  a  reporter  to  meet  conditions,  the 
readers  of  only  one  of  the  papers  learned  the  news  that 
day — news  that  developed  into  much  greater  importance 
because  of  the  subsequent  investigation  of  the  city’s  milk 
supply. 

The  problem  then  of  coping  with  conditions  or  over¬ 
coming  obstacles,  is  an  important  one  in  connection  with 
the  work  of  a  reporter.  Such  conditions  and  obstacles 
will  be  found  often,  too,  by  the  reporter  who  is  covering 
a  run.  But  each  day  he  gathers  news  from  the  same 
persons.  He  has  learned  how  to  approach  them,  knows 
how  much  they  can  be  relied  upon  and  whether  or  not 
they  have  any  conception  of  what  is  important  for  the 
reporter  to  know.  These  persons,  in  turn,  because  of  the 
fact  that  in  their  positions  they  come  in  daily  contact 
with  the  reporters,  often  become  adept  in  the  gathering  of 
news,  noting  those  facts  which  they  realize  the  newspapers 
will  want.  Thus,  will  be  seen,  such  a  condition  materi¬ 
ally  aids  a  reporter  on  a  run.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
reporter  on  special  assignments  gathers  his  news  often 
from  persons  who  know  nothing  of  newspaper  work.  They 
have  no  ability  to  judge  the  importance  of  facts  in  rela- 


ASSIGNMENTS 


135 


tion  to  news  and  the  task  of  procuring  the  essential  de¬ 
tails  is  left  wholly  to  the  reporter.  More  often,  too,  he 
meets  those  persons  who  “refuse  to  talk  for  publication” 
or  to  give  out  information.  Here  is  a  condition  that  must 
be  met.  The  reporter  must  devise  some  means  either  to 
persuade  the  person  to  talk  or  find  some  other  source  for 
his  information.  How  will  he  do  it?  In  a  general  way 
he  will  accomplish  it  by  exercising  his  mental  faculties 
and  by  the  use  of  sound  judgment,  but  it  is  clear  that 
the  solution  of  each  problem  must  depend  on  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  individual  case.  A  subsequent  chapter  will 
deal  with  some  of  the  qualifications  that  every  reporter 
should  have  and  the  exercise  of  such  qualifications  should 
aid  materially  in  the  solution  of  the  various  problems. 
The  reporter,  especially  the  assignment  reporter,  while  his 
work  is  directed  by  the  city  editor,  performs  his  work 
independently  and  chiefly  by  his  own  methods,  so  long  as 
his  methods  are  within  the  bounds  of  honesty  and  respecta¬ 
bility.  Just  as  the  city  editor’s  information  on  which  he 
bases  a  story  may  be  inaccurate,  so  also  it  is  often  meager 
or  general.  Hence  he  cannot  be  expected  to  know  the 
conditions  in  each  individual  case  and  to  tell  the  reporter 
specifically  what  facts  to  get  or  how  to  get  them.  John 
L.  Given,  in  discussing  the  beginner  and  his  first  assign¬ 
ment,  says : 

Most  beginners  in  journalism  get  a  shock  when 
they  receive  their  first  assignment.  *  *  *  The 

initiation  of  a  reporter  is  very  matter  of  fact. 

*  *  *  “Well,  Mr.  Blank,”  says  the  city  editor, 

“a  woman  has  tried  to  kill  herself  at  Avenue  A 
and  Houston  street.  Kindly  look  into  the  matter.” 

*  *  *  He  has  not  been  told  just  what  he  is 


136 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


expected  to  get  or  how  he  is  expected  to  prose¬ 
cute  his  search.  There  are  two  principal  reasons 
why  the  novice  is  from  the  beginning  allowed  to 
plan  as  well  as  fight  his  battles.  First,  the  city 
editor  cannot  take  the  time  necessary  to  advise 
him,  and  second,  the  detailed  planning  must  be 
done  on  the  scene  of  action  or  at  least  after  the 
news  seeker  has  ascertained  what  confronts  him. 
Giving  a  reporter  an  assignment  such  as  has  just 
been  described,  the  city  editor,  however  much  he 
wished  to  help,  could  do  littl©  more  than  say  to 
him :  “When  in  doubt,  ask  a  policeman.” 

Another  problem,  in  reality  one  of  the  conditions  that 
often  confront  the  reporter  on  special  assignments,  is  that 
of  getting  the  information  to  the  office  after  he  has  once 
procured  his  story.  His  work  may  call  him  to  remote 
parts  of  the  city  and  his  time  may  be  limited.  The  neces- 
sity  of  getting  his  information  to  the  office  in  time  is  as 
great  as  getting  the  story  itself,  for  how  can  a  story  known 
only  to  the  reporter  benefit  his  paper?  In  such  cases,  he 
must  not  forget  the  telephone,  or  any  other  means  of  com¬ 
munication  at.  hand. 

Unlike  that  of  the  reporter  on  a  run,  the  work  on  special 
assignments  includes  the  gathering  of  news  of  all  classes. 
In  a  single  day  the  reporter  may  obtain  stories  of  acci¬ 
dents,  political  news,  interviews,  news  of  an  elopement, 
church  conventions  and  various  other  things.  A  broad 
education,  careful  reading  of  newspapers  and  a  familiarity 
with  the  affairs  of  the  city  in  which  he  is  working,  it  is 
apparent,  are  some  of  the  things  that  will  aid  him. 

The  information  and  suggestions  for  assignments  which 
come  to  the  city  editor  are  derived  from  many  sources. 


ASSIGNMENTS 


137 


They  will  be  taken  up  here  briefly,  that  the  beginner  may 
get  an  idea  of  where  news,  other  than  that  gathered 
through  the  regular  channels,  is  obtained.  First  of  all, 
there  is  kept  by  the  city  editor  or  his  assistants  an  assign¬ 
ment  book,  in  which  the  date,  hour  and  place  of  meetings 
or  any  other  event  of  importance  known  in  advance,  is 
recorded.  By  referring  to  the  assignment  book  each  day, 
a  list  of  the  events — where  there  is  any  chance  of  a  story 
developing — scheduled  for  the  current  day  is  obtained. 
Most  of  these  are  procured  from  announcements  or  stories 
already  published  and  others  are  furnished  by  the  reporters 
who  learn  the  date  set  for  trials,  court  decisions,  announce¬ 
ment  of  appointments,  public  exercises,  etc.  In  this  way 
the  city  editor  knows  days  and  even  weeks  beforehand  of 
stories  that  are  to  come  on  certain  days.  Telegraph  news, 
also,  may  tell  of  the  arrival  of  noted  visitors  or  happenings 
elsewhere  to  persons  who  live  in  the  city.  But  the  assign¬ 
ment  book  does  not  help  him  in  gathering  the  news  of 
which  he  has  no  advance  knowledge.  Every  newspaper, 
however,  has  many  friends,  often  called  “volunteer  re¬ 
porters,”  who  constantly  call  the  office  to  tell  of  news 
stories  of  every  kind.  Those  who  call  up  in  this  way  are 
not  the  same  persons  always,  but  those  who  belong  to  a 
class  which,  for  some  reason  takes  a  peculiar  interest  in 
newspapers  and  are  diligent  readers  of  newspapers.  Others 
may  call  up  for  information  about  stories  and  thus  the  city 
editor  hears  for  the  first  time  of  news.  Again,  there  are 
those  who  call  up  or  visit  the  office  to  tell  of  news  in 
which  they  have  a  personal  interest  in  having  the  paper 
publish.  Still  others  have  information  that  they  desire  to 
sell,  and  some  suggest  a  piece  of  news,  of  which  the  news¬ 
paper  had  not  heard,  by  calling  to  see  if  they  can  keep  it 
out  of  the  paper.  In  addition  to  all  these,  the  city  editor 


138 


i 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


and  all  the  reporters  have  their  personal  friends  who  vol¬ 
unteer  information.  Assignments  are  given  also  to  pro¬ 
cure  late  developments  of  all  stories  of  importance,  printed 
in  the  previous  editions.  Such  stories  are  read  carefully 
by  the  city  editor  or  assistants  for  suggestions  for  news 
from  other  sources.  Investigation  and  gathering  of  details 
is  necessary,  in  most  instances,  before  the  story  is  ready 
for  the  paper.  While  t^ere  are  specific  instances  of  many 
other  ways  in  which  news  reaches  a  newspaper,  in  addition 
to  the  regular  channels,  the  foregoing*  are  the  usual  agencies. 


V.  THE  REPORTER. 


In  journalism,  as  in  any  other  profession,  natural  ability 
or  aptitude  for  the  work  has  an  important  part.  But  no 
matter  what  temperament  the  reporter  has  at  the  start, 
he  cannot  hope  for  success  without  developing  by  constant 
training  and  application  certain  abilities,  or  learning  to 
utilize  to  good  advantage  such  natural  abilities  as  he  may 
have ;  without  a  knowledge  of  some  of  the  general  methods 
used  in  news-gathering ;  or,  without  acquiring  what  may 
be  called  the  technique.  In  discussing  the  sources  of  news, 
attention  was  called  in  a  general  way  to  some  of  the 
means  employed  and  qualities  that  must  be  exercised  by 
the  reporter  in  searching  for  and  procuring  news.  A  few 
of  these  at  least,  as  well  as  additional  things  the  beginner 
should  know,  are  so  essential  that  they  may  well  be  con¬ 
sidered  in  detail.  It  should  be  understood,  however,  that 
there  are  no  set  rules,  no  specific  procedure  which  will 
apply  to  any  newspaper  assignment.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  the  reporter  shall  follow  any  formula  in  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  a  given  task.  As  has  already  been  mentioned,  con¬ 
ditions  that  confront  the  reporter  are  seldom,  if  ever,  the 
same  and  such  conditions  must  be  met  by  him  alone  in 
each  individual  case.  But  his  work  does  not  vary  to  such 
a  degree  that  it  is  impossible  to  point  out  certain  methods 
to  be  followed  or  qualifications  to  be  exercised.  They 
are  of  such  importance  that  editors  find  it  necessary  to 
conduct  a  school  of  instruction  along  such  lines  daily,  to 
beginners  especially  and  to  older  reporters  whose  work, 
through  a  lack  of  application,  is  often  unsatisfactory. 
Such  methods,  too,  apply  to  any  class  of  work  in  news- 

139 


140 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


gathering,  whether  the  reporter  is  covering  a  run  or  is 
working  on  a  general  assignment. 

Ability  to  Ask  Questions.  Failure  to  procure  news 
satisfactorily,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases,  may  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  the  reporter’s  inability  to  ask  questions  intelli¬ 
gently  or  neglect  to  ask  enough  questions.  If  the  city 
editor  were  to  take  time  to  give  instructions  to  a  reporter 
every  time  he  gives  out  an  assignment,  he  might  do  no 
more  than  say:  “Ask  questions.”  If  he  were  sure  he  had 
impressed  that  on  the  reporter,  he  might  feel  reasonably 
certain  that  he  could  depend  on  getting  the  story.  Ques¬ 
tioning  is  one  of  man’s  greatest  agencies  for  gaining 
knowledge  and  likewise  it  is  one  of  the  reporter’s  greatest 
agencies  for  obtaining  news.  By  asking  questions  he  will 
find  persons  or  places  that  he  is  searching  for  and  by  the 
same  method  he  will  draw  from  these  persons  the  details 
of  importance  for  his  story.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  oc¬ 
currence  that  a  reporter  who  has  been  sent  out  to  procure 
the  facts  for  a  story  from  a  certain  person  returns  with¬ 
out  a  complete  story.  “What  about  this?”  the  city  editor 
may  ask,  referring  to  a  certain  phase  of  the  story.  “He 
didn’t  tell  me,”  is  the  reporter’s  reply.  “Did  you  ask?” 
“No.”  In  every  newspaper  office  that  conversation,  or  one 
similar  to  it,  occurs  many  times,  especially  when  the  re¬ 
porter  is  a  beginner. 

In  some  instances  this  failure  to  ask  questions  is  the 
result  of  a  certain  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the  reporter. 
The  beginner,  especially,  feels  that  he  may  be  prying  into 
private  or  personal  affairs  and  that  the  man  whom  he  is 
questioning  will  resent  his  queries.  For  the  benefit  of 
such  reporters,  it  may  be  said  that  information  of  interest 
to  the  public  is  distinct  from  affairs  that  are  purely  per- 


THE  REPORTER 


141 


sonal,  although  the  opinions  of  the  reporter,  or  his  news¬ 
paper,  and  the  persons  concerned  often  differ.  The  ques¬ 
tioning  must  not  be  done  aimlessly  or  at  random,  but  with 
a  definite  purpose.  And  this  purpose,  always,  is  that  of 
obtaining  those  details  essential  to  news  in  which  there  is 
a  general  interest.  The  public  recognizes  the  newspaper 
as  an  institution  in  which  it  has  an  interest  and  only  in 
those  cases  where  an  attempt  is  made  to  conceal  news  is 
the  visit  of  a  reporter  treated  as  an  intrusion.  But  even 
under  those  conditions,  the  reporter  should  feel  no  hesitancy 
in  asking  questions,  for  if  the  information  he  desires  is 
of  public  interest,  for  the  public  welfare  and  not  private 
in  character,  he  knows  he  is  clearly  within  his  rights. 
Those  who  try  to  conceal  news,  in  most  cases,  are  aware 
the  reporter  is  not  transgressing*,  but  their  motive  in  cover¬ 
ing  up  news  is  due  to  a  desire  to  avoid  publicity.  If  the 
reporter  represents  a  reputable  newspaper,  the  man  who 
has  information  to  give  should  know,  too,  that  matters 
pertaining  purely  to  his  private  life  or  business  will  not 
be  printed,  especially  if  it  would  in  any  way  harm  him, 
and  he  requests  that  nothing  be  written.  Reporting  is 
now  a  part  of  a  recognized  profession  and  there  should 
be  no  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  any  beginner  to  ask  ques¬ 
tions,  as  long  as  his  manner  is  in  keeping  with  his  profession 
and  the  questioning  itself  is  done  intelligently. 

One  question  unasked  by  a  reporter  who  is  procuring 
material  for  a  story  often  results  in  failure  to  obtain  the 
important  feature  of  the  story.  Reporters  cannot  expect 
those  from  whom  they  obtain  information  to  give  off-hand 
a  piece  of  news  with  every  important  detail.  The  average 
person  does  not  consider  his  information  from  the  same 
viewpoint  as  a  newspaper.  Hence  he  may  leave  untold 


142 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  important  things  and  sometimes  only  artful  questions 
will  bring  them  out.  To  do  this,  the  reporter  should  not 
confuse  the  informant  with  a  jumble  of  questions  about 
senseless  things,  things  that  are  trivial.  From  what  he 
has  already  learned  he  derives  suggestions — his  mind  should 
be  alert  for  suggestions — which  lead  to  information  in 
various  channels.  The  reporter’s  questioning  must  not 
be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  cross-examination,  or  his 
attitude  any  other  than  that  of  one  searching  for  unbiased 
information,  but  an  analysis  of  the  method  used  in  asking 
questions  intelligently,  will  show  that  it  is  not  unlike  that 
of  an  attorney.  Not  always  does  the  first  question,  or 
the  first  few  questions  develop  the  important  feature  of 
the  story,  but  often  it  is  the  last  question.  On  a  report¬ 
er’s  ability  to  ask  questions  depends  the  task  of  getting 
“below  the  surface,”  or  obtaining  those  facts  that  are  not 
apparent.  Just  as  questions  are  necessary  in  the  gathering 
of  information,  so  they  are  essential  in  finding  persons 
who  have  information  or  places  where  news  is  to  be  ob¬ 
tained.  Some  editors  have  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  they 
considered  the  ability  to  ask  questions  the  chief  factor  in 
the  success  or  failure  of  a  reporter. 

Observation.  One  cf  the  means  the  reporter  has  for 
gathering  the  news  that  does  not  come  through  regular 
channels  or  by  an  assignment  is  through  observation. 
Always  he  should  be  watchful  for  the  unusual  incidents 
or  happenings  where  stories  are  likely  to  develop.  The 
reporter  who  uses  his  eyes  to  advantage  does  more  than 
merely  notice  things.  He  sees  “beneath  the  surface.” 
Where  the  ordinary  person  smiles,  wonders  or  shows  only 
a  passing  interest  in  the  unusual  things  that  meet  his  eyes, 
the  reporter  stops,  or  should  at  least,  and  investigates. 


THE  REPORTER 


143 


Always  there  is  the  chance  that  he  will  find  news  or  some¬ 
thing  of  human  interest.  Personal  curiosity,  if  he  has 
trained  his  power  of  observation  as  a  means  of  obtaining 
stories,  rarely  enters  into  the  matter  of  investigating  those 
things  that  he  sees.  Instead  he  has  in  mind  his  newspaper 
and  his  position.  The  all-absorbing  question  to  him  is : 
“Will  I  find  a  story?”  This  carries  him  on  and  arouses 
a  greater  motive  for  investigation  than  curiosity,  if  he 
has  the  enthusiasm  for  his  profession  that  every  repor¬ 
ter  should  have.  Beginners  complain  that  they  see 
few  things  worth  writing.  They  see  them,  perhaps,  but 
not  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  reporter.  Observation  aids  in 
obtaining  stories  only  when  the  reporter  notes  with  a 
purpose  the  unusual  things  he  sees.  That  purpose  will  not 
be  manifest  unless  he  learns  to  keep  his  newspaper  first 
in  mind.  Should  he  forget  that,  then  his  observation  of 
things  becomes  that  of  the  ordinary  person  who  has  only 
a  casual  interest. 

Close  observation  will  prove  a  valuable  aid  to  the  re¬ 
porter  in  another  way.  All  news  stories,  it  must  be  re¬ 
membered,  are  not  obtained  from  interviews  with  persons 
who  have  information  about  this  or  that  event.  Reporters 
are  assigned  to  places  to  see  or  hear  what  happens.  On 
his  eyes  or  his  power  of  observation  then  will  depend  his 
description.  The  more  things  he  sees  the  more  information 
he  will  have  for  his  story.  But  more  important  still,  his 
observation  must  be  comprehensive,  sifting  the  interesting 
from  the  uninteresting,  noting  cause  and  effect  and  other 
things.  Some  may  say  that  the  power  of  observation  de¬ 
pends  on  natural  ability.  Even  if  such  be  the  case,  con¬ 
stant  application  in  learning  to  see  things  from  the  view¬ 
point  of  news  will  greatly  increase  whatever  aptitude  the 


144 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


reporter  has  at  the  beginning.  As  a  factor  both  in  pro¬ 
curing  and  writing  stories  it  is  essential  that  the  reporter 
trains  himself  along  these  lines. 

Accuracy.  Better  no  story  at  all  than  a  story  that  is 
wrong — that  is  a  policy  adhered  to  by  the  editors  of  many 
newspapers.  The  aim  of  the  first  class  newspapers  is  not 
merely  to  furnish  all  the  news,  but  to  furnish  it  accurately. 
The  extent  to  which  the  newspaper  succeeds  in  accom¬ 
plishing  this  aim,  depends  chiefly  on  the  reporter  and,  it 
may  be  added,  the  reporter’s  own  success  depends  on  his 
carefulness.  Carelessness  in  newsgathering  is  not  tolerated. 
Because  of  the  lack  of  time,  no  newspaper  can  reasonably 
expect  to  keep  its  pag'es  entirely  free  from  errors,  but 
equal  to  the  struggle  for  news,  there  is  a  struggle  to  rid 
the  news  columns  of  inaccuracies  and  reduce  the  number 
to  a  minimum.  Since  the  reporter  is  the  one  who  gathers 
the  facts,  makes  the  investigations  and  writes  the  stories, 
it  is  clear  that  the  responsibility  for  the  accuracy  of  such 
stories  rests  upon  him.  The  reporter  must  keep  in  mind 
this  responsibility  and  perform  his  work  with  exceptional 
carefulness.  The  spirit  of  fairness  will  cause  the  newspaper 
to  print  corrections  or  retractions  where  the  error  is  of 
any  importance,  but  it  dislikes  to  do  it,  for  every  retraction 
printed  is,  in  reality,  the  admission  of  a  failure.  In  the 
newspaper  office  it  is  considered  the  failure  of  some  indi¬ 
vidual,  sometimes  an  editor,  but  more  often  a  reporter. 
Errors  in  facts  cost  the  newspaper  prestige  and  friends, 
and  an  immediate  result  may  be  a  libel  suit. 

Excuses,  the  reporter  should  remember,  are  few.  In 
not  a  few  instances  are  the  errors  due  to  carelessness. 
The  reporter  should  never  turn  a  story  over  to  an  editor 
until  he  feels  absolutely  sure  his  information  is  correct. 


THE  REPORTER 


145 


If,  from  lack  of  time  or  because  of  conditions,  he  has 
been  unable  to  verify  any  points  about  which  he  is  doubt¬ 
ful,  he  should  at  least  call  the  editor’s  attention  to  the 
fact  or  consult  with  him  about  the  story.  The  city  editor 
may  find  a  means  of  verifying  the  information  or  judge 
whether  or  not  the  story  is  to  be  printed.  If  the  story 
is  an  important  one  and  includes  charges  or  facts  which 
reflect  on  the  character  of  any  person,  the  city  editor  will 
inquire  into  the  source  and  determine  the  reliability  of 
the  facts  after  questioning  the  reporter.  Ordinarily  he 
will  depend  on  the  reporter.  So  the  reporter  must  learn  to 
judge  persons  from  whom  he  gets  news;  weigh  the  con¬ 
ditions  and,  where  there  is  a  shadow  of  doubt,  investigate 
until  he  is  thoroughly  satisfied.  Untruths  are  often  told 
to  reporters  as  facts.  Alertness  of  mind,  however,  may 
detect  a  motive  or  an  inconsistency  in  the  information 
and  an  investigation  will  reveal  such  untruths.  But  especial¬ 
ly  are  the  inaccuracies  relating  to  details  disapproved  by 
the  city  editor.  Errors  in  name,  initial,  title,  date, 
time,  location,  and  many  similar  things  can  be  easily  avoid¬ 
ed  and  are  considered  inexcusable.  The  work  of  the  re¬ 
porter  who  makes  such  mistakes,  which  are  due  generally 
to  undue  haste,  failure  to  ask  questions  or  carelessness 
in  writing  is  considered  slovenly.  The  reporter,  himself, 
in  such  cases,  is  not  to  be  depended  on.  Ability  to  do 
accurate  work  is  absolutely  essential. 

Reliability.  In  the  work  of  reporting  there  can  be  no 
shirking  of  duty.  To  meet  with  success  in  his  profession, 
the  reporter  must  show  that  he  can  be  relied  upon  to 
perform  his  work,  at  least  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 
While  it  is  true  that  the  organization  of  a  news-gathering 
force  is  such  that  a  reporter  may  drop  out  without  any 
10 


146 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


noticeable  difference  in  the  issuance  of  the  paper,  it  is  not 
true  that  his  work  is  unimportant  or  is  considered  so 
by  anyone  connected  with  a  newspaper.  Once  he  re¬ 
ceives  an  assignment  to  get  a  story,  the  city  editor  relies 
upon  him  and  he  becomes  responsible  to  the  paper  for 
that  particular  piece  of  news.  Sometimes  beginners  fail 
to  realize  the  importance  of  their  position.  They  work 
on  the  theory  that  if  they  fail  to  get  a  story  their  paper 
will  get  it  anyway.  Persons  of  this  class  who  enter  the 
field  of  journalism,  invariably  fail  and  soon  drop  out.  The 
city  editor  learns  that  he  cannot  rely  upon  him  to  obtain 
a  story  or  even  try. 

The  reliable  reporter,  it  might  be  said,  is  the  one  who 
can  be  depended  upon  to  cover  any  assignment  satisfactorily. 
It  is  not  intended  to  use  the  term  in  that  sense  here,  but  to 
consider  reliability  as  a  separate  qualification,  displayed  by 
the  reporter  chiefly  in  his  willingness  to  work  and  his  faith¬ 
fulness  in  performing  his  duties.  Under  this  head  should 
be  considered  two  things  especially :  Punctuality  and 
necessity  of  keeping  the  city  editor  informed  on  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  work,  if  the  assignment  is  an  important  one. 
When  the  general  plan  of  gathering  the  news  each  day  is 
outlined,  every  reporter  on  the  staff  is  taken  into  con¬ 
sideration.  The  city  editor  must  have  men  who  can  be 
relied  upon,  either  to  be  punctual,  or  if  circumstances 
prevent  them  from  being  on  time,  to  send  word  to  him  as 
soon  as  possible.  The  same  holds  true  when  the  report¬ 
er  is  unable  to  report  for  duty  at  all  that  day.  To  those 
unfamiliar  with  the  work  of  news-gathering,  such  matters 
may  seem  trivial.  But  in  reporting  it  becomes  a  matter 
of  importance  and  the  beginner,  sooner  or  later,  must 
learn  that  such  a  course  is  demanded  of  him.  Should  the 
city  editor  know  beforehand,  the  gap  made  by  the  absence 


THE  REPORTER 


147 


of  a  reporter  can  be  filled.  If  he  does  not  know,  then  it 
results  in  delay,  worry,  re-arrangement  of  plans,  and  often 
failure  to  get  certain  news. 

Equally  essential  is  the  necessity  of  “keeping  in  touch 
with  the  office”  while  the  reporter  is  away  an  unusually 
long  time ;  while  he  is  working  on  an  assignment  of  im¬ 
portance  or  when  he  has  accidently  uncovered  news  of 
importance.  It  is  not  sufficient  in  such  .cases  that  the  re¬ 
porter  wait  until  he  returns  to  the  office,  to  acquaint  the 
city  editor  with  what  news  he  has  found,  should  it  be 
at  all  important.  The  city  editor  does  not  care  to  know 
the  little  things,  but  he  must  know  what  news  he  can 
expect  so  that  he  can  plan  how  it  is  to  be  handled  or  direct 
in  a  general  way  the  work  of  gathering  it.  Because  of 
this,  in  many  offices  there  is  a  standing  rule  “telephone 
the  office  when  you  find  a  story  of  importance.”  If,  for 
instance,  a  reporter  should  happen  to  be  at  the  scene  of 
an  accident  of  any  consequence,  he  should  notify  his  office 
as  soon  as  possible.  Otherwise,  the  city  editor  may  hear 
of  the  accident  in  some  way  and,  not  knowing  the  re¬ 
porter  is  already  at  work  on  it,  send  other  reporters  when 
not  necessary.  Where  stories  cannot  be  obtained  im¬ 
mediately  or  the  reporter  meets  with  obstacles  that  he 
cannot  overcome,  the  city  editor  should  be  informed.  He 
may  be  able  to  advise  or  he  may  send  other  reporters  to 
aid  and,  above  all,  after  learning  conditions,  he  knows 
whether  or  not  he  can  rely  on  getting  that  particular  piece 
of  news.  What  few  methods  there  are  in  news-gather¬ 
ing,  the  city  editor  relies  on  the  reporter  to  know  them 
and  follow  them  whenever  possible.  Those  who  do  not 
are  not  only  considered  careless  and  unreliable  but  often 
unqualified  for  the  work. 


148 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Value  of  Friends.  An  asset  of  the  reporter  that  is 
invaluable  is  an  ability  to  make  friends.  The  re¬ 
porter  who  works  mechanically,  gathering  the  news  that 
he  is  assigned  to  get  and  rarely  obtaining  stories  on  his 
own  initiative,  is  not  progressing.  He  is  not  doing  justice 
to  his  paper  or  to  his  profession.  Editors,  it  should  be 
understood,  estimate  the  reporter  not  alone  on  his  ability 
to  perform  given  tasks,  but  include  also  his  ability  to 
procure  stories  voluntarily.  Every  day  the  reporter  may 
be  given  assignments,  a  special  story,  or  stories,  to  get,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  never  hears  or  sees 
anything  of  his  own  accord  that  will  make  a  news  story. 
He  does  naturally,  and  the  number  of  such  stories,  as 
well  as  their  importance,  does  not  depend  on  luck  or 
chance  alone.  On  the  other  hand,  they  depend  chiefly  on 
the  number  of  friends  the  reporter  has.  These  friends  of 
the  reporters,  editors  or  any  other  person  connected  with 
the  paper,  constitute  one  of  the  great  sources  of  news 
for  that  paper.  They  really  become  “volunteer  report¬ 
ers”  because  of  their  friendship  for  some  one  connected 
with  the  paper  and  when  they  learn  of  something  they 
believe  the  newspaper  would  like  lO  know,  they  often  call 
up  over  the  telephone.  Such  stories  as  may  develop 
from  the  information  gained  in  this  way  are  most  likely 
to  be  stories  that  do  not  come  through  the  regular  chan¬ 
nels.  They  belong  to  the  class  of  news  that  newspapers 
have  to  struggle  for.  The  wider  the  circle  of  friends  a 
reporter  has,  the  more  often  he  will  see  them  and  enhance 
his  opportunity  of  gathering  outside  stories.  It  is  not 
the  stranger  or  the  mere  acquaintance  from  whom  the 
reporter  gets  such  information.  It  is  the  person  who 
knows  the  reporter  well  enough  to  take  an  interest  in 
him.  The  value  of  “making  friends”  has  already  been 


THE  REPORTER 


149 


pointed  out  in  connection  with  getting  news  from  runs. 
In  covering  special  assignments,  friends  are  sometimes 
an  aid,  if  perchance  the  reporter  should  meet  them.  What 
reporter,  for  example,  has  not  felt  the  joy  of  finding  a 
friend  at  the  scene  of  some  event  or  place  where  conditions 
are  not  favorable  for  his  obtaining  the  facts. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  reporters  are  to  attempt 
to  make  friends  merely  to  “use”  these  friends  for  a  pur¬ 
pose  later  on.  His  friendship  should  not  be  of  that  quality 
or  one  that  should  necessitate  his  feeling  under  any 
obligations  to  those  who  help  him.  The  value  of  such  a 
personality  as  to  readily  cultivate  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
is  called  to  the  beginner’s  attention  to  show,  more  than 
anything  else,  that  he  must  develop  a  nature  opposite  to 
the  cold,  unresponsive  and  disinterested.  He  can  do  this 
and  still  choose  his  friends.  Friends  from  a  class  that 
is  unworthy  can  seldom  furnish  any  news  that  he  may 
desire.  Neither  will  the  “making  of  friends”  make  neces¬ 
sary  the  sacrificing  of  gentlemanly  quality  or  dignity. 

Suggestions  for  Stories-  Since  his  work  takes  him 
to  every  part  of  the  city  and  brings  him  in  contact  with 
people  of  every  class,  the  reporter  has  opportunities  of 
seeing  and  hearing  things  that  the  editors  have  not.  So 
another  qualification  is  added  to  the  list  of  those  of  a 
reporter :  Ability  to  gather  suggestions  for  stories. 

Generally  speaking,  it  is  not  required  of  the  reporter  that 
he  make  such  suggestions,  but  the  reporters  who  rise  to 
the  top  of  the  profession  are  not  those  who  do  only  those 
things  that  they  are  required  to  do.  The  task  of  gather¬ 
ing  suggestions  for  stories  may  properly  belong  to  an 
editor,  but  his  search  for  information  that  will  lead  to 
a  good  story  is  never  ended.  He  does  not  depend  on 
his  staff  of  reporters  wholly,  but  naturally  he  turns  to  the 


150 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


reporters  and  welcomes  any  suggestions  they  may  make. 
When  a  reporter  learns  to  note  such  things  and  from  his 
suggestions  the  city  editor  procures  stories  of  more  than 
usual  interest,  it  is  natural  that  he  is  considered  more 
valuable  to  the  staff.  A  beginner  often  refrains  from 
making  such  suggestions,  because  he  fears  that  he  may 
be  doing  something  that  is  not  expected  of  him  or  that 
he  is  over-stepping  the  bounds  of  his  duty.  He  should 
know  that  such  is  not  the  case.  His  idea  of  a  story 
may  differ  from  that  of  the  city  editor,  perhaps,  and  the 
suggestion  may  be  judged  unworthy,  but  it  will  be  con¬ 
sidered  and  is  welcomed.  Newspapers  even  have  perfected 
a  system  of  rewards  for  reporters  on  the  staff  who  offer 
suggestions  for  stories  and  one  newspaper  in  a  western 
city  allowed  reporters  to  make  trips  out  of  town  for  stories, 
where  the  suggestion  for  the  story  was  made  by  the  re¬ 
porter  and  approved  by  the  city  editor. 

That  the  beginner  may  not  become  confused,  it  may  be 
explained  that  stories  for  which  he  may  offer  suggestions 
are  really  of  a  class  called  “special  stories.”  News  stories 
which  must  be  published  at  once  or  lose  their  news  value, 
he  must  procure  when  he  sees  or  hears  of  them.  If  the 
assignment  he  is  covering  furnishes  him  so  much  work  that 
he  cannot  cover  both,  then  he  should  notify  the  city  editor 
at  once.  The  two  classes  of  stories  will  be  discussed 
later,  however. 

Perseverance.  The  reporter  may  return  to  his  office 
from  an  assignment  without  a  story,  only  after  he  has 
proved  to  his  own  satisfaction  that  there  is  no  story;  or, 
only  after  he  has  exhausted  every  means  within  his  power 
to  obtain  it.  So  great  is  the  spirit  of  perseverance  in  news¬ 
gathering  that  the  city  editor  may  not  accept  the  first 
reason  without  requiring  the  reporter  to  give  a  detailed 


THE  REPORTER 


151 


account  of  his  work;  the  second  reason  is  given  considera¬ 
tion,  even,  only  in  exceptional  cases.  Where  there  is  no 
doubt  or  it  is  reasonably  sure  that  a  news  story  of  im¬ 
portance  exists,  newspapers  never  consider  such  a  thing 
as  failing  to  get  that  particular  piece  of  news.  The  ques¬ 
tion  becomes  solely  that  of  getting  the  story  while  it  is 
timely  or  before  some  other  newspaper  obtains  it.  Per¬ 
severance,  one  of  the  chief  agencies  on  which  the  news¬ 
paper  depends  for  procuring  its  news,  must  be  displayed 
in  the  individual  work  of  the  reporters.  The  reporter, 
when  he  meets  with  problems  that  are  hard  to  solve,  must 
fight  against  that  tendency  to  become  discouraged  and  re¬ 
sort  to  the  old  maxim,  “try,  try  again/’  His  paper  will 
aid  him  with  every  means  it  has,  but  it  is  for  the  reporter, 
himself,  to  wield  these  means,  bring  into  use  his  own 
abilities,  and  chief  of  all,  to  be  persistent  or  “keep  on 
going.”  When  he  is  assigned  to  get  information  from  a 
certain  person,  and  that  person  either  does  not  know 
the  facts  or  persistently  refuses  to  give  them  out,  the 
reporter  is  not  fulfilling  his  task  by  returning  to  his  office 
and  acquainting  the  city  editor  with  conditions.  Such  a 
case  constitutes  a  failure.  How  can  I  persuade  this  man 
to  talk?  What  other  persons  are  most  likely  to  have  this 
information?  Such  questions  as  these  he  will  ask  himself 
and  then  plan  his  work.  Allowing  him  all  other  qualities, 
without  perseverance  a  reporter’s  success  depends  much 
on  chance  alone.  With  perseverance  that  element  of  chance 
for  success  is  increased  a  hundredfold.  Time,  always  an 
important  factor,  must  be  considered,  but  perseverance  often 
may  be  exercised  on  the  theory  that  “if  you  can’t  get  a 
story  in  time  for  one  edition  of  your  paper,  then  get  it 
for  the  next.”  The  reporter  cannot  afford  to  give  up. 
Should  he  become  discouraged  and  quit,  his  work  as  far 


152 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


as  he  has  gone  has  been  wasted  and,  perhaps,  the  next 
turn  would  have  uncovered  the  news  for  which  he  is 
searching. 

The  matter  of  perseverance  in  procuring  news  is  based 
always  on  the  value  of  the  news  to  be  obtained.  Beginners 
who  are  not  sure  in  the  judgment  of  news  might  spend 
much  valuable  time  and  energy  in  procuring  a  trivial  item, 
in  the  belief  that  they  were  persevering.  Such  would  be 
good  practice  for  the  reporter,  himself,  but  scarcely  justice 
to  the  paper  which  employs  him.  To  avoid  misdirecting 
his  efforts  in  this  way,  where  he  has  any  doubt,  the  re¬ 
porter  should  ascertain  from  the  city  editor  how  impor¬ 
tant  the  news  is  regarded. 

The  ways  in  which  perseverance  may  enter  into  the 
reporter’s  work  are  various.  It  may  be  that  he  is  entirely 
inactive  and  his  perseverance  takes  the  form  of  a  long  wait. 
Although  inaction  may  seem  out  of  place  in  news-gather¬ 
ing  where  time  counts  for  everything,  long  periods  of 
waiting  for  a  person  are  often  essential  and  one  who 
perseveres,  or  stays  until  that  person  arrives,  is  the  one 
who  is  rewarded.  In  the  matter  of  verifying  facts  and 
details,  also,  persistent  work  is  often  necessary.  And, 
lastly,  the  reporter  who  perseveres  in  his  attempts  to  im¬ 
prove  his  work  of  reporting  and  writing,  who  does  not  be¬ 
come  discouraged  or  disheartened  is  the  one  who  may  be 
expected  to  succeed  in  his  profession. 

Fairness.  The  reporter  who  has  not  the  ability  to  put 
aside  personal  dislikes  and  prejudices  lacks  a  qualification 
essential  to  his  work.  In  the  publication  of  news  the  repu¬ 
table  paper  has  only  the  one  fixed  policy :  “Print  the 
facts.”  So,  in  gathering  the  news,  the  reporter’s  policy 
should  be :  “Get  the  facts.”  When,  through  personal  mo¬ 
tives  or  other  reasons,  he  digresses  from  that  policy,  he 


THE  REPORTER 


153 


is  not  fair.  This  exhibition  of  fairness  is  expected  from 
him  in  every  instance,  without  exception.  Some  may  be  led 
to  believe  that  because  of  their  paper’s  attitude  toward 
certain  persons  or  questions,  he  should  gather  only  those 
facts  that  are  favorable  to  that  attitude.  Such  is  not  true, 
and  the  reporter  who  gathers  news  in  that  way,  is,  to  a 
certain  extent,  assuming  the  prerogative  of  an  editor. 
It  can  be  safely  said  that  the  reporter  must  be  able  to 
give  the  city  editor  facts  that  have  been  gathered  impar¬ 
tially.  The  city  editor  may  deem  it  advisable  to  eliminate 
certain  facts  in  the  story,  but  that  is  a  question  which 
concerns  only  the  editor  and  his  paper.  It  is  a  matter 
of  concern  to  the  reporter  in  writing  his  story,  only  when 
he  has  received  his  orders  to  eliminate  them.  In  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  when  a  reporter  assumes  a  knowledge 
of  what  he  has  learned  to  call  the  paper’s  policy  and  asks 
how  he  should  handle  a  story,  the  city  editor’s  answer 
will  be:  “Write  the  facts.” 

On  the  other  hand,  while  a  newspaper  of  high  standard 
will  have  no  policy  that  will  affect  fairness  and  impartiality 
in  the  gathering  of  news,  it  is  well  that  the  reporter  be 
familiar  with  any  general  policies  or  attitudes,  that  he 
may  be  able  to  judge  the  importance  of  a  news  story.  For 
instance,  should  a  paper  be  conducting  a  campaign  for  a 
certain  improvement  or  reform,  any  news  on  that  subject 
will  be  of  greater  importance  to  that  paper  than  to  one 
which  has  not  taken  any  interest.  The  paper’s  policy, 
also,  may  affect  the  nature  of  the  news  it  prints.  Thus 
the  reporter  may  be  able  to  judge  of  the  importance  of 
ciime  stories,  stories  of  so-called  scandal,  etc.,  as  viewed 
by  his  paper. 

Fairness  should  be  considered  by  the  reporter  in  con¬ 
nection  with  those  persons  concerned  in  a  news  story.  For 


154 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


example,  his  work  is  not  ended  when  he  tells  of  the  arrest 
of  a  person  and  the  charges  against  him.  The  spirit  of 
fairness  on  the  part  of  the  reporter  and  the  newspaper 
makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  get  at  least  a  statement  from 
the  person  arrested. 

Enthusiasm.  As  an  incentive  to  the  reporter,  enthu¬ 
siasm  counts  for  much  in  his  ultimate  success.  Those  who 
win  the  right  of  being  called  good  reporters  are  in  the 
profession  because  “they  like  the  work.”  Advantages 
which  rank  with  those  of  any  other  profession  are  to  be 
enjoyed,  but  they  must  hold  a  secondary  place  to  the  en¬ 
thusiasm  which  every  reporter  should  have.  Aside  from 
the  opportunity  for  service  it  is  this  enthusiasm,  or  interest 
in  his  work,  that  makes  the  reporter  strive  harder  for 
stories  and  enables  him  to  get  action  or  spirit  in  his  writing. 
It  is  true  that  in  reporting,  mediocre  ability  or  even  more 
may  be  developed  and  success  to  a  certain  degree  obtained 
by  thorough  training  and  a  knowledge  of  all  the  general 
methods,  without  enthusiasm,  but  such  cases  are  rare.  A 
reporter  may  have  the  qualifications  and  the  knowledge 
essential,  but  it  is  enthusiasm  that  urges  him  on  and  causes 
him  to  do  thorough  work  by  applying  his  knowledge  and 
ability.  Should  he  take  no  interest  or  have  a  dislike  for 
the  work,  then  all  he  does  is  forced.  There  will  be  a 
tendency  to  become  mechanical,  to  obtain  only  the  news 
that  he  may  be  assigned  to  get;  or  the  lack  of  interest 
may  become  manifest  in  other  ways.  Before  deciding  to 
become  a  reporter  then  a  person  should  first  know  some¬ 
thing  of  the  nature  of  the  work,  its  scope  and  the  various 
duties  that  will  fall  to  him.  If  he  finds  nothing  that  ap¬ 
peals  to  him  then,  he  owes  ;it  to  himself  and  to  the  profession 
not  to  enter  the  field.  The  same  is  true,  also,  if  after  be¬ 
coming  a  reporter  he  finds  he  has  no  interest  in  his  tasks. 


THE  REPORTER 


155 


His  chance  for  success  is  small  and  it  will  be  much  better 
for  him  should  he  seek  some  other  profession. 

The  beginner,  that  is  one  who  has  had  no  training  and 
has  made  no  study  of  news-gathering,  may  at  first  get  a 
false  impression.  His  work  may  be  of  a  routine  nature, 
until  he  shows  ability  or  progress.  His  part  may  seem 
drudgery  and  he  has  no  opportunity  or,  at  least  only  a 
limited  opportunity,  to  learn  of  the  fascination  of  the  work. 
Without  realizing  the  scope  of  news-gathering  and  basing 
his  view  on  the  minor  assignments  he  has  had,  the  beginner 
decides  too  quickly  that  he  has  no  interest.  A  liking  for 
the  work  will  bring  enthusiasm,  but  that  liking  may  de¬ 
velop  when  the  beginner  has  had  more  experience,  if  not 
at  the  start. 

What  constitutes  enthusiasm?  The  reporter  who  wel¬ 
comes  an  opportunity  to  render  the  public  real  service,  who 
is  energetic  and  willing,  who  takes  pride  in  procuring  and 
writing  a  story,  and  who  considers  it  a  victory  well  worth 
while  in  overcoming  obstacles  to  get  news — that  reporter, 
it  may  be  said,  has  enthusiasm  for  his  work.  He  is  the 
reporter,  too,  who  does  not  begin  his  search  for  news  in  a 
half-hearted  manner,  expecting  failure  as  much  as  success, 
where  there  are  conditions  to  be  overcome.  He  proceeds 
on  the  theory,  “Til  get  the  story,  if  there  is  one,  ”  instead 
of,.  “I’ll  try  but  I  don’t  believe  I’ll  succeed.”  And  he  is 
just  as  eager  to  bring  the  story  into  the  office  as  his 
city  editor  is  to  have  him  do  so. 

Loyalty.  The  reporter  who  is  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  general  character  of  the  newspaper  on  which  he  is  em¬ 
ployed  had  best  leave  its  employ.  Loyalty  is  a  quality 
that  every  reporter  must  possess,  but  when  he  is  not  in 
accord  with  the  paper’s  ideals,  he  cannot  be  loyal.  This 
does  not  mean  that  he  must  be  of  the  same  political  faith 


156 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


or  share  the  views  or  attitude  of  the  paper  regarding  cer¬ 
tain  questions  or  persons.  Those  matters  in  themselves 
do  not  concern  the  work  of  the  reporter.  But  when  he 
becomes  dissatisfied,  when  he  cannot  bring  himself  to 
believe  in  his  paper,  or  when  he  is  unable  to  tit  himself  to 
the  particular  type  of  paper  for  which  he  is  writing,  he 
cannot  work  for  the  best  interests  of  that  paper.  For¬ 
tunately  the  standard  of  newspapers,  as  a  whole,  regarding 
news  is  so  high  that  the  methods  of  procuring  news  and 
the  manner  of  writing  it  seldom  enter  into  the  question. 
The  reporter  need  have  no  fear  that  he  will  be  required 
to  use  questionable  means  of  obtaining  a  story,  or  to  write 
it  in  an  objectionable  way.  The  exceptions  are  so  few 
that  a  discussion  of  such  methods  is  unwarranted. 

As  an  incentive  to  the  reporter,  loyalty  wields  an  in¬ 
fluence  equal  to  that  of  enthusiasm.  The  one  who  is  faith¬ 
ful  and  holds  a  true  regard  for  his  paper,  will  never  hesi¬ 
tate  to  use  his  best  efforts  for  that  paper.  He  will  never 
hesitate  to  offer  his  services  wherever  needed  nor  fail  to 
get  any  story  if  it  is  within  his  power  to  get  it.  For  these 
things  he  is  reasonably  sure  of  reward  for  newspapers 
are,  in  turn,  loyal  to  their  reporters.  Aside  from  its 
element  of  honesty,  loyalty  will  cause  the  reporter  always 
to  consider  his  newspaper  first.  It  will  prevent  the  re¬ 
porter  from  yielding  to  outside  influences  often  exerted 
to  keep  stories  from  being  published  or  to  pervert  the 
truth,  and  it  will  keep  him  from  giving  to  reporters  for 
rival  papers  any  information  that  otherwise  would  con¬ 
stitute  exclusive  news.  By  these  and  similar  ways,  the 
necessity  of  a  spirit  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  reporter 
is  shown. 

Exclusive  News.  Naturally  the  reporter  who  brings 
into  his  office  a  news  story  or  important  features  of  a  story 


THE  REPORTER 


157 


that  no  rival  paper  gets,  deserves  and  receives  special 
credit.  The  rivalry  among  the  newspapers  of  a  community 
or  certain  territory  is  as  great  today  as  ever.  A  newspaper 
does  not  stop  with  an  attempt  to  print  all  the  news  that 
a  rival  paper  may  print,  but  it  does  everything  within  its 
power  to  get  as  much  exclusive  news  as  possible. 

On  the  reporters,  more  than  on  any  other  persons  con¬ 
nected  with  the  paper,  perhaps,  depends  the  paper’s  suc¬ 
cess  in  the  matter.  Such  stories  are  known  generally  in 
newspaper  offices  as  “scoops”  or  “beats.” 

Among  the  beginners,  the  tendency  is  to  have  an  exag¬ 
gerated  idea  of  the  importance  of  stories  required  before 
they  can  be  termed  exclusive  stories  or  scoops.  The  more 
important  the  news,  of  course,  the  greater  is  the  achieve¬ 
ment  of  the  reporter  and  his  paper,  but  the  reporter  will 
do  well  to  work  on  the  theory  that  any  news  story  worth 
printing  at  all  is  worth  guarding  and  is  of  more  value 
if  printed  by  his  paper  exclusively.  Because  of  the  system 
by  which  news  is  gathered  through  regular  channels,  the 
extended  use  of  the  telephone  and  the  existence  of  press 
associations,  the  chances  for  scoops  on  news  of  great  im¬ 
portance  has  been  lessened  much  in  recent  years.  But 
that  does  not  deter  the  newspaper  from  trying  to  get 
such  news  and  not  infrequently  its  efforts  are  rewarded. 

When  a  reporter  covers  a  news  story  of  even  ordinary 
importance  or  is  assigned  to  get  such  a  story,  if  there  is 
any  reason  to  believe  that  the  story  will  be  exclusive,  he 
will  be  expected  to  use  every  precaution  to  prevent  the  in¬ 
formation  from  falling  ,into  the  hands  of  rival  papers. 
On  his  ingenuity,  carefulness  and  judgment  regarding  how 
and  from  whom  he  will  gather  the  information  rests  the 
responsibility. 


158 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


In  connection  with  the  discussion  of  exclusive  news  arises 
the  question  of  working  in  conjunction  with  reporters  of 
rival  papers  who  may  be  on  the  same  run  or  assigned 
to  the  same  story.  The  practice  is  a  general  one  and  dis¬ 
approved  by  editors,  although  under  certain  conditions  the 
dividing  of  work  may  save  much  time  and  energy,  thus 
benefiting  each  paper.  But  the  reporter  should  remember 
that  for  a  paper  to  get  an  important  feature  or  features 
of  a  story  that  other  papers  do  not  get,  is  in  itself  a  scoop. 
In  fact  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  a  paper  is  not  scooped 
by  missing  the  entire  story  but  by  failing  to  procure  im¬ 
portant  features.  So,  if  the  work  has  been  divided,  and 
the  reporter  in  doing  his  share  finds  an  unusually  impor¬ 
tant  feature,  he  is  bound  by  honor  to  give  it  to  the  others. 
Had  he  been  working  alone  there  is  always  a  chance  that 
the  feature  would  have  been  exclusive  for  his  paper.  The 
argument  that  he  might  be  the  one  to  benefit  through  the 
efforts  of  one  of  the  other  reporters  cannot  be  considered. 

The  chances  for  all  are  equal  and  no  reporter  can  ex¬ 
pect  to  cover  an  assignment  honestly  if  he  rates  his  own 
ability  inferior  to  others  who  may  be  working  on  the 
same  story  and  depends  on  them  for  his  information.  Work¬ 
ing  in  conjunction  with  other  reporters  precludes  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  exclusive  newrs. 

The  greater  number  of  short  stories — news  stories  that 
may  not  be  regarded  as  unusually  important — that  a  paper 
prints  exclusively  the  more  that  paper  believes  it  is  succeed¬ 
ing.  This  the  beginner  should  keep  in  mind,  for  exclusive 
news  does  not  include  only  the  “big”  stories. 

Honesty.  In  its  relation  to  news-gathering,  honesty  has 
to  do  chiefly  with  the  betrayal  of  confidences.  It  has  been 
asserted  that  honor  is  a  newspaper  man’s  chief  stock  in  trade, 
but  by  betraying  confidences  the  reporter  casts  away  all 


THE  REPORTER 


159 


sense  of  honor,  and  he  cannot  hope  to  continue  long  in 
his  profession.  He  violates  an  unwritten  law  of  all  repu¬ 
table  newspapers,  does  himself  an  irreparable  injury,  and 
costs  his  paper  prestige.  Writing  and  submitting  news 
given  in  confidence  constitutes  dishonesty.  It  is  not  un¬ 
common  that  a  reporter  comes  into  the  possession  of  news 
in  this  way.  He  may  meet  persons  not  as  a  representative 
of  his  paper,  but  socially,  at  their  homes,  at  dinners,  etc. 
Under  these  and  similar  circumstances,  he  may  gain  in¬ 
formation  that  would  make  interesting  reading — -often  a 
good  news  story.  But  such  information  in  many  instances 
is  not  only  not  intended  for  publication,  but  is  of  a  confiden¬ 
tial  nature  and  would  never  have  been  mentioned  if  the  in¬ 
formant  had  not  relied  upon  the  reporter’s  honor. 

Only  one  recourse  is  left  to  the  reporter,  then.  He 
must  get  consent  to  make  the  information  public,  but  fail¬ 
ing  in  this,  it  cannot  be  printed.  He  need  have  no  hesi¬ 
tancy  in  acquainting  his  city  editor  with  the  facts  if  he 
considers  it  essential  to  do  so,  for  he  will  not  be  required 
to  write  the  story  or  give  the  facts  to  any  other  person 
to  write.  Again  reporters  may  receive  information  in  con¬ 
fidence  for  their  own  personal  use  or  enlightenment  with 
the  request  that  it  be  not  printed,  or  receive  advance  in¬ 
formation  with  the  understanding  that  it  will  not  be  made 
public  until  a  certain  date. 

Dishonesty  or  ignorance  only  will  lead  the  reporter  to 
betray  confidences  and  break  his  word.  If  he  does  it  in 
the  belief  that  he  is  displaying  loyalty  to  his  paper  by  ob¬ 
taining  exclusive  news,  he  will  learn  soon  that  his  news¬ 
paper  does  not  desire  news  gathered  in  that  way.  The  city 
editor  may  say :  “Get  the  story  somehow,  I  don’t  care 
how,”  but  he  does  not  mean  to  use  dishonest  methods  or 
to  betray  confidences. 


160 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


In  other  cases  than  those  mentioned,  the  reporter  should 
guard  against  accepting  information  in  confidence.  If  a 
person  mysteriously  volunteers  to  give  him  some  news, 
if  he  will  promise  not  to  write  it,  what  good  is  such  news 
to  the  reporter  if  he  cannot  submit  it  to  his  paper?  If  it 
is  information  for  which  the  reporter  is  seeking,  or  some¬ 
thing  which  he  or  his  office  knows  about  in  a  general  way, 
why  should  the  reporter  cast  aside  the  chance  of  obtaining 
it  from  another  source  by  accepting  such  information  in 
confidence  ? 

Honesty,  of  course,  enters  into  every  phase  of  the  re¬ 
porter’s  work :  The  truthfulness  of  his  reports,  suppression 
of  news,  acceptance  of  courtesies  or  gifts,  method  of  ob¬ 
taining  news,  and  writing.  It  certainly  would  be  dishonest 
for  the  reporter  to  avoid  truthfulness  in  his  writing  or  in 
reporting  facts  to  his  city  editor;  to  refuse  to  write  or 
report  news  which  he  has  obtained ;  and  to  use  questionable 
methods  in  procuring  news. 

The  matter  of  accepting  courtesies  or  gifts  is  one  that 
may  confront  the  reporter.  The  character  of  those  in  the 
profession  at  the  present  day  is  so  high  that  bribes  are 
rarely  offered  openly  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  news, 
distorting  facts  or  obtaining  a  reporter’s  influence  in  get¬ 
ting  certain  stories  printed.  While  free  tickets,  gifts,  or 
other  courtesies  may  be  extended  and  accepted  without 
any  thought  of  undue  influence,  to  remove  any  tendency 
toward  such  an  influence  or  feeling  of  obligation  on  the 
part  of  the  reporter,  some  newspapers  rigidly  enforce  the 
rule  that  they  be  not  accepted.  In  other  cases,  if  free 
tickets  are  accepted,  they  are  available  to  reporters  through 
their  office  only.  The  matter  of  accepting  courtesies  is 
taken  up  here  because  it  is  a  custom  that  affects  journalism 
more  than  any  other  profession  and  one  that  has  been 


THE  REPORTER 


161 


abused.  In  considering  the  question  that  the  reporter 
should  know  that  he  has  no  more  right  to  accept  such 
courtesies  than  a  person  in  any  other  profession.  He  is 
paid  for  gathering  and  writing  the  news  and  where  any 
expense  is  incurred  that  expense  will  be  borne  by  the  news¬ 
paper. 

As  to  the  practice  of  demanding  or  asking  for  courtesies, 
it  cannot  be  condemned  too  severely.  It  is  such  a  prac¬ 
tice,  due  to  dishonesty,  lack  of  dignity  or  ignorance  of 
his  profession,  that  will  not  be  tolerated  by  the  newspapers 
today. 

Promises.  Apart  from  the  element  of  honesty  and  the 
spirit  of  loyalty  that  must  govern  his  own  actions  the 
reporter  should  know  that  he  cannot  make  promises  re¬ 
garding  the  suppression  or  printing  of  news  that  will  in 
any  way  bind  his  paper.  In  such  a  case,  again,  he  would 
be  assuming  the  prerogative  of  an  editor.  His  sympathy 
will  be  appealed  to,  often,  perhaps,  in  an  effort  to  keep 
stories  out  of  the  paper.  But  it  is  not  for  the  reporter 
to  judge  the  merits  of  such  appeals.  If  his  sympathy  is 
enlisted  he  should  report  the  circumstances  to  the  city  edi¬ 
tor  and  the  cases  are  rare,  where  such  appeals  are  meri¬ 
torious,  that  they  will  not  be  heeded.  The  city  editor, 
however,  may  order  the  story  written.  Unwilling  as  the 
reporter  may  be  to  write  it,  he  has  no  alternative,  for  the 
final  judging  of  what  shall  or  what  shall  not  be  pub¬ 
lished,  when  any  question  is  raised,  is  not  one  of  the  re¬ 
porter’s  duties. 

A  reporter  cannot  promise  that  a  story  will  be  published 
or  written  in  any  certain  way.  He  cannot  promise  how 
much  or  how  little  will  be  written  nor  can  he  promise 
that  stories  will  be  published  at  all.  These  are  respon¬ 
sibilities  that  are  assumed  by  editors. 

11 


162 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Thoroughness.  The  reporter  who  carries  his  investi¬ 
gations  to  such  an  extent  that  he  can  return  to  his  office, 
able  to  write  a  story  that  is  complete,  with  all  of  his 
facts  verified,  has  done  thorough  work.  Such  work  will 
characterize  him  as  an  able,  reliable  reporter,  as  against 
the  one  who  performs  his  task  carelessly  and  without  any 
feeling  of  responsibility.  An  incomplete  story  represents 
a  waste  of  time  and  energy  on  the  part  of  the  reporter 
and  a  delay  in  printing  the  story.  It  means  in  most  cases 
that  the  reporter  will  be  ordered  to  do  his  work  over  again, 
and  often  the  opportunities  he  had  in  the  first  attempt  are 
not  open  to  him  again. 

While  the  reporter  may  submit  news  or  stories  with  an 
over-abundance  of  inconsequential  details  in  which  the 
public  generally  could  have  no  interest,  such  a  fault  is 
much  less  serious  than  that  of  not  obtaining  enough  de¬ 
tails,  or  submitting  a  story  that  is  not  complete.  Such  a 
fault  may  be  due  to  the  failure  of  the  reporter  to  judge 
the  importance  of  his  story,  but  just  as  often  it  is  due 
to  hasty,  superficial  work,  and  inattention  to  the  details. 

Thoroughness  in  reporting  necessarily  includes  careful¬ 
ness.  It  prevents  errors  or  inaccuracies.  Likewise  it  in¬ 
cludes  a  persistency  in  investigations. 

Alertness.  Reporting  is  not  for  the  slow,  the  plodding, 
or  those  inclined  always  to  depend  on  the  judgment,  re¬ 
sources  and  direction  of  others.  It  requires  physical  and 
mental  alertness  at  all  times.  Without  such  alertness  the 
reporter  misses  the  opportunities  open  to  him  for  gather¬ 
ing  news.  In  no  other  profession  is  timeliness  such  a 
constant  factor  or  of  such  vast  importance  as  in  journal¬ 
ism.  It  is  because  oif  this  timeliness  that  the  reporter  is 
unable  to  do  things  at  his  leisure  or  in  a  leisurely  way. 
Once  he  is  assigned  to  obtain  a  news  story  he  should  re- 


THE  REPORTER 


163 


member  that  the  less  time  he  will  consume  in  getting  that 
story,  complete  and  accurate,  the  more  efficient  his  work 
will  be  considered.  The  assignment  may  be  that  of  cover¬ 
ing  a  fire,  accident,  meeting,  or  any  story  where  news  must 
be  in  type  at  the  earliest  possible  time ;  and  again,  there 
may  be  other  work  awaiting  the  reporter  when  he  returns 
from  his  assignment. 

The  hours  of  a  reporter  are  not  unendurably  long,  as 
some  may  have  been  led  to  believe.  In  fact  they  do  not 
compare  unfavorably  with  those  of  any  other  profession. 
But  while  he  is  on  duty,  the  reporter  will  find  plenty  to 
do  and  on  his  alertness  depends  whether  or  not  he  does 
his  share  or  succeeds  in  getting  news  promptly  and  from 
the  best  sources  available. 

To  be  mentally  alert  the  reporter  should  train  him¬ 
self  not  only  to  watch  for  stories  or  suggestions  for  stories, 
but  in  the  gathering  of  facts  he  must  be  quick  to  note  the 
importance  of  certain  details,  grasp  the  situation  in  a  com¬ 
prehensive  way  and  use  reason  and  judgment  in  working. 
No  piece  of  news,  no  matter  of  how  little  importance  it 
may  be,  can  be  gathered  satisfactorily  unless  the  reporter 
concentrates  his  mind  on  that  piece  of  news.  Every  story 
requires  thought,  reasoning  power  and  judgment,  first  as 
to  its  value,  and,  second  as  to  the  manner  of  procuring 
it. 

Time  again  becomes  a  factor  since  it  forces  the  reporter 
to  train  himself  to  think  rapidly  and  to  be  alert  in  forming 
conclusions  and  using  judgment.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
a  reporter  will  not  fail  in  his  judgment,  but  the  use  of 
thought  and  reason  certainly  will  aid  in  making  his  judg¬ 
ment  sure  and  cause  him  to  follow  a  line  of  procedure  that 
seems  most  likely  to  produce  results.  It  will  prevent  him 
from  working  aimlessly  and,  as  a  general  rule,  from  wasting 


164 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


his  time  and  energy.  Especially  where  the  conditions  are 
not  favorable  for  procuring  a  story  will  the  reporter’s  ability 
to  think  and  act  quickly  be  tested.  On  the  spur  of  the 
moment  he  must  invent  methods  and  plan  his  campaign. 
If  he  does  not  concentrate  his  thoughts  on  the  matter  and 
is  not  alert  to  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  offered 
through  his  resourcefulness  his  chance  for  success  is  ma¬ 
terially  lessened.  In  reporting  there  are  many  instances 
where  the  success  or  failure  of  procuring  a  story  depends 
on  the  ability  of  a  reporter  to  match  his  wits  against  those 
who  desire  to  suppress  news.  It  is  due  to  this  chiefly  that 
mental  alertness  is  a  quality  that  must  be  developed  by 
every  reporter. 

Details  of  Practice.  As  a  means  of  saving  time  and 
unnecessary  labor,  the  value  of  the  telephone  in  news¬ 
gathering  can  scarcely  be  estimated.  But  the  reporter 
should  employ  discretion  in  its  use.  There  are  at  least 
three  good  reasons  why  it  cannot  be  depended  on  uni¬ 
versally.  First,  when  news  is  procured  over  the  telephone 
the  chances  for  inaccuracies  through  misunderstanding  are 
greatly  increased;  second,  the  reporter  can  never  be  posi¬ 
tive  as  to  the  identity  of  his  informant ;  third,  information 
is  not'  given  as  readily  over  the  telephone  as  when  the 
reporter  makes  a  personal  visit,  thus  decreasing  his  op¬ 
portunities  for  getting  a  complete  story  or  any  story  at 
all.  In  short,  the  reporter  will  find  that  in  obtaining  news, 
it  does  not  pay  to  use  the  telephone  unless  lack  of  time 
or  other  conditions  makes  it  necessary. 

Just  as  some  persons  refuse  to  transact  business  over 
the  telephone,  they  also  refuse  to  give  out  information  or 
to  discuss  a  news  story.  Persuading  persons  to  talk  is 
one  of  the  chief  tasks  of  a  reporter.  Where  he  relies  up¬ 
on  the  telephone  to  accomplish  this,  he  is  at  a  decided  dis- 


THE  REPORTER 


165 


advantage.  Although  the  reporter’s  questions  may  be  an¬ 
swered,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  restraint  in  telephone 
conversations,  unconscious  perhaps,  but  with  the  result 
that  the  reporter  misses  important  facts  that  could  have 
been  obtained.  As  an  aid  in  other  ways,  the  telephone 
would  seem  almost  indispensable.  It  serves  to  “keep  in 
touch”  with  the  office,  to  find  persons  or  places,  to  make 
engagements  and  to  communicate  and  procure  late  news. 

Pictures  are  published  more  extensively  by  newspapers 
of  the  present  day  than  ever  before,  hence  the  gathering 
of  photographs  has  become  a  part  of  the  reporter’s  work 
that  should  be  considered.  His  task  of  getting  pictures 
is  distinct  from  that  of  the  newspaper  photographer  or 
artist  who  works  on  assignments  much  as  the  reporter 
does.  But  in  obtaining  any  story  the  reporter  should  keep 
in  mind  the  matter  of  pictures  and  obtain  them  whenever 
possible.  If  the  news  is  at  all  important,  or  the  persons 
or  places  concerned  are  generally  known,  pictures  are 
desirable,  so  much  so  in  fact,  that  the  reporter  will  do  well 
to  work  on  the  theory  that  his  story  is  not  complete  un¬ 
less  he  obtains  them.  In  many  cases,  of  course,  they  are 
not  available,  but  the  same  persistency  must  be  exercised 
in  learning  whether  or  not  they  are  available,  and  in  the 
procuring  of  them,  as  the  reporter  exercises  in  the  gather¬ 
ing  of  news. 

Obtaining  photographs  of  persons  and  consent  to  pub¬ 
lish  them  is  not  an  easy  task.  This  peculiar  condition  exists : 
The  general  public  has  scarcely  reached  that  stage  where 
persons  will  furnish  pictures  of  themselves  as  readily  as 
they  do  news  that  concerns  them  personally.  But  no  mat¬ 
ter  how  difficult  this  phase  of  reporting  may  be  at  certain 
times,  dishonest  means  of  procuring  a  photograph  will 
not  be  tolerated  by  the  newspapers  any  more  than  in  the 


166 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


gathering  of  news.  A  reputable  newspaper  will  not  pub¬ 
lish  a  picture  that  is  stolen,  if  the  theft  is  known  to  the 
editor,  and  the  reporter  will  not  be  asked  or  required  to 
employ  any  dishonest  method  in  obtaining  it.  It  is  not 
meant  to  convey  the  idea  here  that  the  reporter  must 
get  the  consent  of  a  person  to  publish  his  picture,  or  that 
newspapers  do  not  publish  pictures  without  consent.  Where 
a  person  gives  a  picture  he  knows  it  is  for  publication 
and  his  consent  is  understood.  Where  it  is  procured 
from  other  sources,  the  consent  of  the  person  is  not 
considered  necessary,  for,  like  news  stories,  many  pho¬ 
tographs  would  not  be  published  perhaps  if  the  news¬ 
paper  or  reporter  depended  on  getting  the  consent  of 
those  concerned.  But  it  is  intended  to  impress  upon  the 
beginner  that  stealing  a  picture  is  dishonest,  unprofes¬ 
sional  and  a  practice  that  will  not  be  approved. 

Information  for  a  news-story  should  come  from  those 
immediately  concerned  by  the  news,  or  those  who  are  in 
a  position  to  know  the  facts  and  who  have  authority  to 
talk.  The  closer  the  informant  is  to  the  source  of  the 
news,  the  more  reliable  and  authentic  a  story  may  be  ex¬ 
pected  by  the  reporter.  As  an  example,  should  a  bank 
or  business  firm  fail,  the  president  of  the  institution  is 
the  one  whom  the  reporter  should  attempt  to  see.  Because 
of  his  position  and  his  standing  in  the  business  world,  it  is 
reasonable  to  expect  that  he  cannot  afford  to  give  willfully 
untruthful  reports,  although  he  may  try  to  suppress  facts. 
The  heads  of  institutions — those  in  authority — constitute 
a  reliable  source  of  news  and  it  is  from  them  that  the 
public  naturally  expects  information  and  statements.  A 
private  secretary,  for  instance,  can  give  out  news  only 
when  the  right  is  specially  delegated  to  him.  Any  state¬ 
ment  he  may  make  is  merely  his  employer  speaking  and 


THE  REPORTER 


167 


the  extent  of  the  information  he  can  give  is  necessarily 
limited.  With  his  employer  the  reporter  has  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  “selling”  himself  and  his  paper  and  getting 
more  information.  Clerks  and  others  who  hold  minor 
positions  may  aid  the  reporters  in  giving  “tips”  or  hints, 
but  because  they  have  not  the  right,  they  generally  re¬ 
frain  from  talking.  When  they  do  give  out  news  the 
reporter  should  verify  it.  The  same  method  of  getting 
information  should  be  followed  where  the  news  concerns 
a  person.  That  person  about  whom  the  news  centers  is 
the  proper  person  for  the  reporter  to  visit  first. 

In  gathering  facts  for  a  news  story  it  is  not  sufficient 
merely  to  obtain  the  name  of  the  person  or  persons  in¬ 
volved.  Other  facts — occupation,  age,  address,  etc., — must 
be  given  that  the  persons  can  be  identified  by  the  readers 
of  the  paper.  The  first  time  a  person  is  mentioned  in  a 
story,  it  should  be  told  at  least  who  he  is  and  where  he 
lives.  It  is  not  enough  either  to  give  the  name  of  the 
street,  but  the  address  should  include  the  number  of  the 
house.  In  a  similar  way  buildings  and  scenes  of  news 
stories  should  be  definitely  located.  Specific  and  not  in¬ 
definite  or  general  information  is  what  the  reporter  should 
aim  to  procure. 


VI.  INTERVIEWING. 


Since  it  rarely  happens  that  a  reporter  is  “on  the  scene” 
when  a  news  story  develops,  a  large  part  of  the  news 
printed  each  day  is  obtained  by  eliciting  information  from 
others.  Interviewing,  in  the  broad  sense,  then,  is  an  im¬ 
portant  part  of  the  everyday  work  of  the  reporter.  But 
an  interview  has  a  greater  significance  and  a  more  technical 
meaning  in  newspaper  circles.  It  does  not  consist  merely 
in  questioning  with  a  view  of  gathering  facts  about  a 
particular  news  event,  but  it  is  the  reporting  of  a  person’s 
opinions,  experiences,  or  wrork.  The  chief  interest  in  such 
a  story  or  interview  is  centered  about  the  person  inter¬ 
viewed  and  not  some  happening  which  he  witnessed. 

Two  things  become  essential  in  the  procuring  of  an  inter¬ 
view:  The  reporter  should  be  informed  as  to  the  person 
giving  the  interview  and  he  should  have  a  general  knowl¬ 
edge,  at  least,  of  the  subject  of  the  interview.  Some  per¬ 
sons  are  adverse  to  giving  out  interviews  when  they  find 
the  reporter  is  not  well  informed.  They  fear  that  he  lacks 
ability  to  present  their  views  intelligently  or  correctly,  or 
that  he  will  give  the  wrong  interpretation.  Rather  than 
attempt  to  enlighten  the  uninformed  reporter  by  long,  de¬ 
tailed  explanation  of  his  work  or  the  subject  at  hand, 
the  person  sought  for  an  interview  may  decide  to  “refuse 
to  talk”  or  he  may  confine  his  remarks  to  a  few  sentences 
which  give  no  opportunities  for  misunderstanding  or  mis¬ 
interpretation.  The  reporter  who  has  the  best  chances  to 
obtain  a  good  interview  is  the  one  who  is  so  informed  on 
the  subject  to  be  considered,  that  he  can  discuss  it  intelli¬ 
gently  and  can  comprehend  quickly  and  clearly  the  relations 

168 


INTERVIEWING 


169 


of  the  opinions  obtained  to  that  subject.  This  is  not  always 
possible,  but  a  general  knowledge  of  affairs  before  the 
public,  those  affairs  in  which  the  public  is  interested  and 
which  afford  subjects  for  a  majority  of  the  interviews,  is 
possible. 

Where  no  subject  has  been  assigned  to  the  reporter, 
some  knowledge  of  the  person  who  will  be  asked  for  an 
interview,  or  his  affairs  will  /aid  much  in  selecting  a  sub¬ 
ject.  With  such  a  knowledge  the  reporter  knows  along 
what  lines  he  can  expect  to  develop  news  or  on  what 
subjects  that  particular  person’s  opinions  will  have  weight. 

The  reporter  should  not  be  content  with  procuring  and 
writing  mere  statements  of  facts  or  opinions  of  another. 
An  interview  of  that  kind,  unless  the  subject  is  particularly 
interesting,  tends  to  make  dry  reading.  Instead  it  should 
reflect  as  far  as  possible  the  personality  of  the  person 
interviewed.  The  public  is  interested  in  the  man  as  well 
as  his  opinions  and  the  interview  that  includes  the  little 
things  of  human  interest  concerning  the  talker — his  ap¬ 
pearance,  manner  of  talking  and  similar  things — adds  to 
the  effectiveness  of  the  interview  and  holds  the  interest 
of  the  reader.  Alfred  Baker,  a  member  of  the  British 
Institute  of  Journalists,  writing  of  the  interview,  says: 

“In  its  highest  form  the  interview  should  present  a 
perfect  word-picture  of  some  notability,  his  surroundings, 
his  opinions,  and  his  work.  Interviewing  also  embraces 
the  collection  of  representative  opinion,  and  the  eliciting 
from  public  leaders  of  words  of  guidance  or  explanation 
on  some  topic  of  absorbing  interest.” 

Use  of  Notes.  A  perfect  memory  is  the  only  substitute 
for  the  taking  of  notes.  In  exceptional  cases  alone  is  the 
memory  infallible,  hence  the  surest  means  of  guarding 
against  inaccuracies  or  the  unintentional  misquoting  of  a 


170 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


person  is  the  discriminate  and  intelligent  use  of  notes  in 
interviewing.  It  is  held  by  some  editors  that  the  sight 
of  a  pencil  and  notebook  in  the  hands  of  a  reporter  tends 
to  cause  a  feeling  of  restraint  on  the  part  of  the  person 
interviewed ;  that  it  constantly  reminds  the  person  that 
he  is  talking  for  publication,  thus  causing  him  to  be  guard' 
ed,  formal  or  even  to  suppress  news  that  otherwise  he 
would  have  given  out. 

The  wrong  manner  of  taking  notes  in  some  instances 
undoubtedly  does  produce  such  an  effect.  It  occurs  more 
often  when  the  person  interviewed  is  not  accustomed  to 
giving  out  news  or  when  the  reporter  makes  unnecessary 
display,  directing  special  attention  to  his  note-taking.  Nat¬ 
urally  the  reporter  who,  producing  a  note-book  and  pencil, 
assumes  the  attitude  of  one  making  a  formal  stenographic 
report,  instills  a  feeling  of  hesitancy  and  restraint,  or 
tends  to  frighten  his  informant  so  that  he  will  refuse 
to  be  interviewed.  But  the  reporter  should  cultivate  his 
memory  to  such  an  extent  that  his  taking  of  notes  need 
consist  only  in  making  an  outline,  or  the  jotting  down  of 
names  or  important  facts  and  quotations.  This  can  be 
done  without  unusual  display  or  without  directing  any 
special  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  is  taking  notes.  As¬ 
suming  that  the  informant  knows  he  is  talking  to  a  re¬ 
porter  and  that  what  he  says  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a 
confidence,  note-taking,  if  wisely  done,  rarely  proves  a 
hindrance  in  the  obtaining  of  a  story,  while  on  the  other 
hand,  it  will  prove  a  benefit  in  the  ultimate  result. 

“I  was  misquoted,”  is  a  complaint  often  made.  Where 
such  complaint  is  just,  the  inaccuracy,  in  many  cases,  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  reporter  depended  too  much  on  his 
memory.  So  true  is  this,  that  many  public  men  who 
have  given  interviews  that  were  incorrectly  written,  now 


INTERVIEWING 


171 


ask  that  as  a  safeguard,  notes  be  taken  by  the  reporter. 

In  interviewing,  as  well  as  in  the  eliciting  of  any  infor¬ 
mation  from  a  person,  there  is  danger  in  putting  too  much 
stress  in  the  taking  of  notes.  If  the  reporter  doesn’t 
train  himself  to  exercise  his  memory  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  relies  wholly  on  his  notes,  there  will  be  a  tendency 
to  concentrate  thought  on  the  notes  alone,  overlooking 
possibilities  of  the  interview  or  story  that  may  be  developed. 
This  is  the  result  of  taking  notes  too  copiously. 

Use  of  Shorthand.  While  a  knowledge  of  shorthand 
may  be  of  much  value  to  the  reporter  it  is  not  consider¬ 
ed  necessary  by  most  newspapers  in  this  country,  although 
a  different  view  prevails  to  some  extent  in  Great  Britain. 
Speeches  of  importance  which  will  be  printed  verbatim 
are  often  procured  from  the  speaker  in  advance.  If  not, 
a  stenographer  may  be  employed  by  the  newspaper. 


VII.  NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE. 


In  the  discussion  of  news-gathering  thus  far,  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  what  constitutes  news  and  the  reporter’s  ability 
to  discern  news  have  not  been  considered.  No  matter 
how  capable  the  reporter  becomes  in  procuring  informa¬ 
tion  and  in  writing,  if  he  does  not  learn  to  classify  in¬ 
formation  ;  if  he  does  not  learn  to  sift  out  and  search 
for  those  things  which  are  of  value  from  the  viewpoint 
of  news,  then  he  will  lack  what  most  editors  say  is  a 
reporter’s  chief  qualification.  News,  in  its  broadest  sense, 
is  that  which  is  of  interest  to  the  readers — the  public. 

The  present  day  newspaper  with  its  various  departments 
and  special  stories  gives  news  this  broad  interpretation 
even  to  the  extent  of  encroaching  on  the  magazine’s  field. 
But  it  is  with  news  stories  and  the  stories  of  human  in¬ 
terest  that  the  reporter  is  chiefly  concerned.  The  other 
stories  on  most  newspapers  are  left  to  those  in  special 
departments. 

A  news  story  may  not  be  of  interest  to  every  reader, 
but  its  importance  or  value  is  proportionate  to  the  number 
of  readers  in  whom  it  incites  interest  and  to  the  degree 
of  that  interest.  An  analysis  of  a  vast  majority  of  all 
news  stories  published  possibly  will  show  that  the  fact 
such  stories  are  of  general  interest  and  hence  constitute 
news,  is  due  chiefly  to  at  least  one  of  these  elements: 

1.  The  prominence  of  persons  or  places  concerned. 

2.  The  proximity  of  the  event  to  the  place  of  publication. 

3.  The  unusualness  of  the  event. 

4.  The  magnitude  of  the  event. 

5.  The  human  interest  involved. 

6.  Timeliness. 


172 


NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE 


173 


A  story  that  is  not  based  on  one  of  the  foregoing 
elements  to  some  degree  stands  little  chance  of  arousing 
general  interest.  At  its  best  the  number  of  persons  it 
will  interest  will  be  limited,  thus  reducing  to  a  minimum 
its  value  as  news.  “Sensational”  features,  it  may  be  said, 
add  to  the  importance  of  news  stories.  But  news  becomes 
“sensational,”  generally,  when  one  or  all  of  the  elements 
named  are  accentuated  or  involved  to  a  high  degree. 
The  amount  of  space  given  to  a  news  story  and  the  extent 
to  which  it  will  be  written  in  detail,  naturally  varies  in 
accordance  with  the  story’s  importance. 

Those  not  engaged  in  newspaper  work  tend  to  associate 
news  with  interviews,  accidents,  or  happenings — that  class 
of  stories  that  come  daily  from  the  police,  courts,  or  other 
regular  sources.  This  may  be  due  to  the  many  stories  of 
this  kind  that  go  to  make  up  news  from  day  to  day 
or  to  the  fact  that  they  have  not  studied  the  stories  pub¬ 
lished.  But  the  scope  of  news — news  exclusive  of  the 
special  feature  stories  and  stories  based  wholly  on  human 
interest — is  much  broader.  A  careful  reading  of  news¬ 
papers  discloses  the  fact  that  important  news  stories  are 
more  than  the  account  of  happenings  and  peculiar  in¬ 
cidents.  There  is  included  as  a  source  for  news  the  work 
and  activities  of  the  people  at  large  and  natural  phenomena. 
With  such  a  wide  field,  the  reporter  in  his  search  for 
news,  finds  things  of  general  interest  that  could  not  be 
classified  as  a  happening  or  things  that  could  be  obtained 
through  the  regular  news  sources. 

Activities  of  people,  no  matter  of  what  character,  where 
they  affect  a  class,  a  community,  or  any  large  number  of 
persons ;  or  if  they  affect  an  individual  to  a  great  degree, 
constitute  news.  Even  trivial  matters  of  everyday  life 
are  transformed  into  news  by  one  of  the  elements  men- 


174 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


tioned,  chiefly  human  interest  or  the  prominence  of  those 
concerned. 

A  forecast  of  events,  things  worthy  of  noting  when  they 
come  to  pass,  also  constitutes  news.  In  this  connection 
it  is  well  to  know  that  the  freshness  of  news  adds  to  its 
importance.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  newspaper  to  furnish 
its  readers  that  which  has  never  been  in  print  before.  The 
aim  is  to  present  it  to  its  readers  as  soon  as  possible  after 
it  develops.  News  spreads  rapidly  sometimes  without  the 
aid  of  the  newspaper  as  a  distributor,  and  the  more  general¬ 
ly  known  it  becomes,  the  more  such  a  condition  detracts 
from  the  importance  of  the  story  when  it  is  finally  printed. 
The  public  does  not  realize  this  fact  and  the  reporter  in 
his  attempts  to  gather  news  will  meet  with  the  request: 
“See  me  this  afternoon,”  or  “come  tomorrow.”  Relating 
to  news,  “this  afternoon”  and  “tomorrow”  will  not  do. 
The  reporter  who  heeds  such  a  request  and  does  not 
insist  upon  getting  the  facts  now,  not  only  assumes 
a  risk  of  being  scooped,  but  abandons  his  opportunity  of 
procuring  news  until  it  is  stale  and,  as  a  result,  less  im¬ 
portant. 

News  Sense.  News  sense  is  the  term  commonly  ap¬ 
plied  to  that  qualification  a  reporter  should  have  for  the 
judging  and  handling  of.  news  in  its  various  phases.  It 
consists  chiefly  of  ability  to : 

1.  Recognize  news  (discriminate  between  what  is  of  general 
interest  and  what  is  not). 

2.  Judge  the  importance  of  news  (the  degree  of  interest  and 
the  number  of  persons  it  interests). 

3.  Perceive  the  startling  or  essential  features  (emphasize  the 
points  of  vital  interest  or  of  more  general  interest). 

4.  Recognize  the  human  interest. 

5.  Adapt  a  style  in  writing  that  best  suits  the  character  of  the 
news  at  hand. 


NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE 


175 


A  sense  of  news  is  not  necessarily  the  result  of  a  natural 
temperament  or  gift,  although  such  a  gift,  of  course,  is 
an  advantage  to  the  reporter  at  the  start.  It  can  be  acquir¬ 
ed  by  training,  observation,  and  study.  In  the  manner 
that  has  been  outlined,  the  beginner  must  learn  to  analyze 
everything  that  he  sees  or  hears — every  prospective  story. 
Should  his  own  interest  as  an  individual  be  aroused,  he 
can  be  quite  sure  that  he  has  found  something  in  which 
there  is  an  element  of  news  or  something  that  contains 
enough  human  interest  to  make  it  news.  But  as  an  in¬ 
dividual,  the  reporter,  himself,  may  find  that  he  has  no 
interest  in  a  particular  event.  His  individuality  then  must 
be  discarded  and  the  judging  done  in  a  different  way. 
He  analyzes  to  find  whether  the  matter  is  general  or  local, 
whether  it  interests  any  class  or  mass  of  people,  rather 
than  individuals.  Once  he  determines  these  things,  an 
opinion  is  formed  as  to  whether  the  news  is  there  and, 
if  so,  the  degree  of  its  importance.  Constant  application 
may  cause  this  process  of  reasoning  to  become  ‘'second 
nature.”  Analyzing  information,  in  such  cases,  is  done 
unconsciously  and  conclusions  made.  In  the  same  way 
he  learns  to  make  use  of  hints  or  suggestions  for  news. 
Mentally  he  draws  a  picture  of  what  the  hint  may  lead 
to,  and  judges  the  value  of  the  information  which  he  has 
a  prospect  of  procuring. 

News  sense  has  to  do,  also,  with  the  judging  of  the 
features  of  a  story.  Many  stories  published  constitute 
news  because  of  one  striking  or  unusual  feature.  Others 
may  contain  many  such  features,  and  the  reporter  must 
discriminate.  In  the  gathering  of  information  for  a  story 
he  should  learn  to  judge  the  relative  \mportance  of  such 
features  just  as  he  judges  the  importance  or  news  value 
of  the  entire  story,  and  bend  his  efforts  toward  developing 


176 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


them.  In  writing  he  must  be  able  to  discriminate,  for  it 
will  be  necessary  for  him  to  make  prominent  the  feature, 
or  features,  most  important — important  because  of  the 
general  interest  and  the  degree  of  interest  they  will  incite. 
In  an  article  on  “The  Reporter, ”  Edward  W.  Townsend 
says : 

It  is  often  the  lack  of  a  sense  of  proportion  which  accounts  for 
the  failures.  The  handling  of  a  piece  of  news  which  furnished  not 
only  a  second  but  a  third  and  fourth  day  story  recently,  will  ex¬ 
plain  this  point.  *  *  *  A  diver  is  caught  in  the  mouth  of  a 

great  pipe  at  the  bottom  of  a  reservoir.  He  may  be  alive  when 
the  story  reaches  newspaper  readers  and  there  is  the  suspended  in¬ 
terest,  a  vital,  powerful  interest  for  the  story.  A  score  of  reporters 
learn  identical  facts,  but  send  off  by  telegraph  much  varying  stories. 
While  one  laboriously  tells  of  the  physical  conditions  at  the  intake 
of  the  pipe,  another  compiles  a  list  of  names  and  dates — facts  suited 
for  the  story  of  the  reservoir,  not  the  diver — a  third  searches  his 
brain  for  words  descriptive  of  horror  and  vows  never  again  to  take 
an  out-of-town  assignment  without  first  pocketing  a  thesaurus. 
But  the  twentieth  man  is  writing  a  simply  worded  story  of  the 
facts,  words,  expressions,  of  a  group  of  men  trying  to  reach  or 
communicate  with  the  imprisoned  diver;  tells  of  their  hopes,  fear*, 
labors,  sacrifices ;  of  the  trials  and  failures  of  another  diver,  his 
sturdy  courage,  manly  grief — all  this  concerned  with  one  unseen 
man  pinned  down  in  the  depth  who  may  be  alive !  He  tells  not  of 
the  pressure  of  water,  of  suctions,  but  of  a  muddied  oaf  who  will 
not  leave  the  air  pump,  though  racked  with  pain  and  dropping  with 
fatigue;  a  doctor  who  has  sat  for  two  days  on  a  raft  to  be  at  hand 
when  the  diver  shall  be  released ;  tearful  women  on  the  shore ;  a 
great  man  in  New  York  who  crowds  the  resources  of  a  great  rail¬ 
road  to  rush  the  means  for  rescue — because  the  man  down  there 
may  be  alive!  Why,  half  of  New  York  forgot  business  and  pleas¬ 
ure  that  day  discussing  this  drama  of  suspended  interest,  which 
one  reporter  alone  had  the  instinct  to  feature  proportionately.  Had 
the  diver  fallen  off  the  edge  of  the  reservoir  dam,  broken  his  neck, 
and  died  at  once,  New  York  would  not  have  read  so  much  as  the 
few  lines  the  paper  would  have  printed  about  the  accident.  There 


NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE 


177 


were  a  dozen  accounts  which  contained  more  information — more 
facts — than  the  one  referred  to,  but  their  writers  lacked  the  in¬ 
stinct  of  a  first-class  reporter. 

Human  Interest.  In  a  strict  sense  human  interest  is 
that  which  appeals  to  the  reader’s  emotions — his  sympathy 
or  his  sense  of  humor.  But  human  interest  has  a  broader 
scope  still.  It  includes  glimpses  of  life;  those  incidents, 
sayings  or  doings  of  persons  which  arouse  a  common  in¬ 
terest  in  people  as  a  whole.  It  may  be  embodied  in  a  news 
story  or  it  may  predominate  in  the  commonplace  happen¬ 
ings  or  incidents  to  such  a  degree  that  it  makes  these  com¬ 
monplace  things  worthy  of  stories.  The  element  of  interest 
on  which  news  is  based,  especially  where  the  news  is  at  all 
important,  differs  from  that  of  human  interest ;  although 
there  may  be  many  human  interest  features.  The  story  of 
an  accident  recently  published  will  aid  in  illustrating  this 
point.  An  iron  worker  fell  from  the  tenth  story  of  a 
building  which  was  in  the  process  of  construction.  When 
he  reached  a  point  between  the  second  and  third  floors,  his 
hands  accidently  came  in  contact  with  several  ropes.  He 
grasped  them  unconsciously,  thus  checking  his  fall  some¬ 
what,  swerving  his  course  and  causing  him  to  strike  the 
platform  of  a  scaffolding.  Although  the  scaffold  gave  away 
and  he  fell  to  the  soft  ground  beneath,  his  fall  had  been 
checked  to  such  an  extent  that  his  injuries  were  not  fatal. 
What  then  was  the  character  of  the  vital  interest  contained 
in  the  reporter’s  story?  It  was  that  interest  which  tends 
to  make  news  and  due,  in  this  particular  case,  to  the  un¬ 
usualness  or  rarity  of  the  occurrence — the  iron  maker  was 
alive  after  a  fall  of  ten  stories. 

But  the  human  interest  was  there  although  the  story  which 
embodied  it  was  not  procured  that  day  or  the  next,  but 
12 


178 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


many  weeks  afterward.  How  does  it  feel  to  fall  such  a 
distance?  What  were  the  iron-maker’s  thoughts?  Could 
he  tell  what  prompted  him  to  grasp  the  ropes?  The 
element  of  human  interest  in  a  story  from  the  iron¬ 
worker  that  would  answer  these  questions  appealed  to 
the  city  editor  of  one  paper.  He  considered  it  of 
so  much  importance  that  the  condition  of  the  injured  man 
was  watched  constantly  and  the  moment  he  had  recovered 
to  such  a  degree  that  his  mind  was  not  clouded  by  pain 
and  he  was  allowed  to  talk,  a  reporter  was  sent  to  get 
the  interview.  The  story  that  resulted  was  so  essentially 
one  of  human  interest  and  so  wide-reaching,  that  news¬ 
papers  the  country  over  reprinted  it  and  it  was  read  and 
commented  upon  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons. 

Another  striking  example  of  the  prominence  of  the 
human  interest  in  news  is  cited  by  a  Tennessee  newspaper 
in  this  manner: 

That  was  a  short  story  but  truly  pathetic  and  filled  with  human 
interest  that  came  over  wires  from  Central  Texas,  in  which  the 
tragic  death  of  two  children,  7  and  2  years  old,  respectively,  was 
told.  Allen  Wesley  Pierce,  a  small  farmer,  had  the  misfortune  to 
lose  his  wife.  This  is  a  tragedy  in  itself.  The  wife  of  the  small 
farmer  is  truly  a  helpmeet.  She  is  housekeeper,  cook,  laundress, 
school  teacher,  seamstress,  and,  when  necessary,  assistant  in  the 
field.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  helpless  and  confused  mortal 
on  earth  than  the  man  who  is  suddenly  called  upon  to  discharge 
the  household  duties  formerly  attended  to  by  his  wife. 

His  7-year-old  son  saw  this  and  valiantly  attempted  to  remove 
some  of  his  father’s  perplexities  by  preparing  the  evening  meal. 
In  doing  this  the  gasoline  stove  exploded  and  he  and  his  baby  sister 
lost  their  lives.  While  the  little  hero  was  stretched  on  his  bed 
of  pain  in  sight  of  his  dead  sister,  he  explained  that  “he  was  cooking 
supper  for  papa.”  It  was  the  simple  act  of  a  little  child,  hazardous 
and  fatal  as  it  happened;  but  the  motive  behind  it  glorified  it.  *  *  * 


NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE 


179 


The  failure  of  a  reporter  to  recognize  and  procure  the 
human  interest  feature  of  such  a  story  would  almost  equal 
the  failure  to  get  the  story.  Without  it  the  story  would 
have  been  chiefly  of  local  interest  and  not  wide-reaching 
as  news. 

These  examples  are  given  here  with  a  view  of  showing 
how  human  interest  becomes  an  essential  feature  of  news. 

In  this  manner  the  reporter  should  learn  to  watch  for  the 
little  details  of  human  interest  that  add  to  the  effectiveness 
of  news  stories.  A  noted  statesman  was  interviewed  recent¬ 
ly  on  a  railway  train  about  certain  legislation  pending  be¬ 
fore  Congress.  In  one  paragraph  of  the  interview  the  re¬ 
porter  wrote : 

“This  bill  is  a  bad,  bad  bill,”  said  Mr.  - ,  as  he 

peeled  a  third  banana,  “but  I  am  waiting  to  see,  etc.” 

That  one  little  human  interest  detail,  noted  in  only  six 
words — “as  he  peeled  a  third  banana” — caused  every  reader, 
perhaps,  to  pause  and  mentally  picture  the  statesman  as 
he  talked.  It  did  not  add  to  the  importance  of  the  story  as 
news,  but  it  did  add  to  its  effectiveness.  It  was  a  detail 
of  a  character  that  tended  to  make  the  interview  what 
newspapers  try  to  make  all  stories  published — interesting 
reading. 

Feature  Stories.  Under  the  heading  of  news  in  its 
general  classification,  come  also  those  stories  which  are 
worth  writing  and  are  printed  solely  because  of  the  human 
interest  they  contain.  No  matter  how  commonplace  the 
incident  or  happening  on  which  the  story  is  based  may  be, 
if  it  contains  the  human  interest,  it  will  have  a  peculiar 
hold  on  the  readers.  That  human  interest  also  may  be 
embodied  in  the  unexpected  and  the  unusual.  It  does 
not  necessarily  always  appeal  to  the  emotions.  Every 
person  has  an  interest  in  the  experiences  of  others,  especial- 


180 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


ly  where  such  experiences,  although  trivial,  are  at  all 
out  of  the  ordinary.  For  example,  the  story  that  causes 
the  reader  to  comment :  “Why,  I  have  had  that  very  thing 
happen  to  me.  I’ve  often  wondered  if  others  had  ever  had 
the  same  experience/’  undoubtedly  contains  human  interest. 
The  public,  in  a  similar  way,  likes  to  read  about  matters 
with  which  they  are  familiar,  places  they  have  visited,  and 
persons  whom  they  know. 

It  is  the  human  interest  that  makes  the  trivial  things 
about  such  subjects  become  news.  The  stories  of  children 
and  animal  stories  often  embody  the  human  interest 
features.  An  assemblage  of  persons,  in  addition  to  its 
bearing  on  news,  is  almost  a  never-failing  source  of  human 
interest  stories.  A  crowd’s  comments,  actions  and  general 
attitude,  either  as  individuals  or  as  a  whole,  with  the  many 
attending  incidents  offer  in  most  cases  an  abundance  of 
material  for  stories  that  appeal  to  the  reader.  Such  a 
source  resolves  into  that  already  noted  as  the  activities  of 
people,  but  in  the  case  of  a  crowd  the  reporter  has  the 
activities  and  doings,  of  a  certain  nature  anyway,  assembled 
before  him.  It  is  necessary  then  for  him  to  use  his  power 
of  observation  to  a  good  advantage. 

The  ability  to  recognize  that  which  is  of  human  interest 
may  be  developed  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  developing 
ability  to  recognize  news  of  any  character,  namely  by 
analyzing  what  the  reporter  sees  and  hears,  and  a  careful 
reading  of  the  newspapers  to  analyze  stories  printed,  with 
a  view  of  determining  just  what  each  story  contains  and 
wherein  it  arouses  an  appeal  to  the  readers. 

There  are  also  various  types  of  feature  stories  not  based 
on  human  interest  as  a  whole  or  in  part.  Some  represent 
the  Sunday  magazine  type  (not  fiction)  which  are  enter¬ 
taining  or  informational  in  character.  Many  are  detailed 


NEWS  AND  ITS  VALUE 


181 


elaborations  of  a  recent  news  event.  Others  deal  with 
subjects  of  general,  purely  local  or  timely  interest  not 
treated  as  news.  All  such  stories  are  considered  here  under 
the  general  classification  of  news,  since  in  most  instances 
they  are  gathered  and  written  by  reporters,  and  published 
in  the  news  columns. 

Short  Stories.  While  the  news  of  greater  importance, 
as  a  rule,  is  written  more  in  detail  and  is  presented  in 
stories  of  greater  length  the  reporter  should  not  lose  sight 
of  the  value  of  news  embodied  in  short  stories.  The  in¬ 
experienced  reporter  will  often  put  too  much  zeal  in  his 
efforts  to  procure  “big  stories”  and  slight  the  news  story 
that  may  be  worth  a  few  paragraphs,  or  he  may  become 
discouraged  because  he  is  able  to  obtain  only  the  shorter 
stories.  Any  story  that  is  worthy  of  publication  is  im¬ 
portant  else  it  would  not  be  published.  It  is  worthy  also 
of  the  time  and  energy  of  the  reporter  in  getting  it.  No 
story  worth  publishing  can  be  of  so  little  importance  that  the 
reporter  can  afford  to  fail  to  use  the  same  carefullness  and 
persistence  in  procuring  it  that  he  would  use  in  a  “big” 
story  or  story  of  more  importance. 


VIII.  OFFICE  ORGANIZATION  IN  NEWS 

GATHERING. 


Development  of  the  work  of  gathering  news  along 
systematic  lines  has  resulted  in  a  definite  organization  of 
the  forces  employed  in  the  news  department  of  a  metro¬ 
politan  newspaper.  The  reporter,  it  has  been  noted, 
does  not  perform  his  work  aimlessly,  but  uses  general 
methods.  The  uncovering  of  much  of  the  news  printed 
every  day,  also,  results  from  a  system  of  watching  the 
regular  sources  of  news.  In  a  similar  way,  within  the 
newspaper  office,  organization  has  developed  in  directing 
the  work  of  gathering  and  in  the  handling  of  news. 

News  is  classified  under  the  two  general  heads — local 
and  telegraph.  Local  news  is  that  which  is  gathered 
in  the  immediate  territory  in  which  the  paper  is  published. 
Telegraph  news  reaches  the  newspaper  office  by  cable,  tele¬ 
graph,  telephone  or  mail  and  is  gathered  from  anywhere 
outside  of  this  local  territory — from  the  world  at  large. 

To  expedite  the  work  of  handling  and  publishing  it,  news 
is  still  further  classified  as  to  its  character.  This  second 
classification  is  commonly  as  follows :  General  news,  society 
news,  financial  and  market  news,  sporting  news,  etc.  For 
each  of  these  there  may  be  a  separate  department  with  an 
editor  in  charge.  In  addition  to  these  there  may  be  an 
editor  of  a  woman’s  department  or  page,  an  editor  for 
religious  news,  etc.  With  the  exception  of  the  city  editor, 
who  is  concerned  only  with  the  local  news,  and  the  tele¬ 
graph  editor,  who  handles  only  telegraph  news,  the  editors 
in  charge  of  the  various  other  departments  usually  have 
to  do  with  both  local  and  telegraph  news.  In  the  brief 

182 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


183 


discussion  of  each  that  follows,  they  will  be  included  under 
the  head  of  local  news. 

Local  News. 

City  Editor.  The  city  editor  and  his  duties  will  be 
discussed  here  chiefly  in  their  relation  to  the  reporter,  with¬ 
out  considering  in  any  way  qualifications  necessary  for 
the  person  holding  the  position.  Only  after  the  one  who 
enters  the  field  of  journalism  has  proved  himself  to  be 
a  thoioughly  competent  reporter  can  he  hope  to  take 
into  consideration  his  own  fitness  or  qualifications  with  a 
view  of  becoming  the  city  editor. 

On  the  city  editor  rests  the  responsibility  of  gathering  and 
preparing  for  publication  all  local  news  of  a  general  charac¬ 
ter.  He  is  responsible  to  the  managing  editor.  It  is 
clear  then  that  the  city  editor  must  depend  much  on  the  re¬ 
porters,  their  ability  and  the  character  of  their  work; 
that  he  will  build  up  as  capable  a  staff  as  possible.  In 
justice  to  himself  and  his  paper  he  cannot  afford  to  keep 
in  his  employ  the  careless,  incompetent  reporter,  the  re¬ 
porter  who  fails  to  see  any  individual  responsibility  in  his 
position  or  who  fails  to  do  his  work  thoroughly  or  intelligent¬ 
ly  because  of  other  reasons.  To  acquit  himself  creditably 
and  make  his  paper  the  best  possible  in  regard  to  news,  he 
will  seek  those  men  who  have  developed  or  show  signs 
of  developing,  at  least,  qualities  already  mentioned  as  es¬ 
sential  for  a  reporter. 

The  city  editor  is  the  directing  head  of  the  staff  of  re¬ 
porters,  re-write  men,  copy  readers  and  the  photographers 
or  artists  who  work  in  the  news  department.  He  works  in 
conjunction  with  the  editors  of  the  various  other  depart¬ 
ments  named,  and  where  news  of  great  *mportance  is  un- 


184 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


covered  in  these  departments,  he  may  assist,  or,  as  is  often 
the  case,  assume  charge  of  the  work  of  gathering  and  han¬ 
dling  of  such  news.  His  duties  may  be  grouped  under  the 
following  heads : 

1.  Finding  where  news  is  to  be  gathered. 

2.  Directing  the  work  of  gathering  news. 

3.  Judging  and  directing  the  manner  of  writing  news. 

4.  Directing  the  work  of  handling  copy. 

Mention  has  been  made  as  to  how  and  where  the  city 
editor  finds  news,  or  rather,  as  to  the  source  of  the  in¬ 
formation  on  which  he  bases  his  assignments.  First,  he 
knows  that  news  is  to  be  found  on  the  runs ;  second,  he 
scans  every  item  of  news  published  in  search  for  hints 
or  suggestions  for  developments ;  third,  he  weighs  all  in¬ 
formation  that  comes  to  him  either  from  outsiders  or  from 
reporters  and  others  within  the  office,  with  a  hope  of  finding 
something  that  is  of  general  interest,  or  that  will  lead  to 
something  else  of  general  interest;  fourth,  he  notes  reports 
of  those  things  which  may  be  classed  as  happenings  and 
which  constantly  pour  into  his  office.  In  this  manner 
he  learns  where  there  is  news,  or,  at  least,  where  it  is 
probable  that  news  is  to  be  found.  It  is  worth  emphasizing 
again,  that  the  reporter  can  aid  greatly  not  only  by  un¬ 
covering  and  gathering  news  himself,  but  also  by  watching 
and  being  alert  for  suggestions  for  stories. 

As  far  as  possible  the  city  editor’s  is  the  guiding  hand 
in  the  procuring  of  all  stories.  From  him  the  reporter  re¬ 
ceives  his  assignments  and  often  instructions  as  to  the 
manner  of  covering  them.  With  him  the  reporter  confers 
concerning  the  solution  of  various  problems  arising  in 
his  work  and  receives  advice.  But  the  extent  of  the 
city  editor’s  duties  in  this  advisory  capacity  and  in  the 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


185 


matter  of  giving  instructions  are  necessarily  limited;  first, 
because  of  the  press  of  other  work  and  lack  of  time ;  second, 
because  he  cannot  be  familiar  with  the  circumstances  sur¬ 
rounding  the  news  to  be  gathered. 

The  reporter  is  not  told  specifically  what  to  do  and  how 
to  do  it.  If  he  were,  reporting  would  be  comparatively 
an  easy  phase  of  the  work  in  journalism.  Training  would 
be  unnecessary.  Instead,  the  reporter  is  told  in  a  general 
way  of  the  results  desired  or  to  be  obtained.  It  is  for  him 
then  to  do  his  own  thinking,  planning,  and  to  exercise 
his  best  judgment.  The  successful  reporter  will  not  fall 
into  the  habit  of  seeking  advice  and  instruction  as  to  how 
he  should  take  each  step  in  performing  his  tasks.  He  will 
train  himself  to  work  independently  on  his  assignments, 
planning  his  own  campaigns  and  fighting  his  battles  alone. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  duties  of  the  reporter  and  not  of 
the  city  editor.  It  is  only  when  the  news  is  of  more  than 
average  importance ;  when  there  is  doubt  as  to  the  best 
manner  of  proceeding  in  getting  it ;  when  the  reporter 
has  met  obstacles  that  he  has  failed  to  overcome  after  using 
every  means  within  h,is  power,  that  it  should  be  necessary 
to  seek  the  aid  of  the  city  editor  in  covering  assignments. 
When  the  city  editor  has  sufficient  information  at  hand ;  or 
has  in  mind  a  piece  of  news  which  he  knows  can  be  pro¬ 
cured  from  certain  persons  or  in  a  certain  wav;  or  sends 
a  reporter  for  news  which  he  desires  handled  in  a  certain 
manner,  then  the  assignment  may  be  accompanied  with 
instructions  that  will  aid  the  reporter.  Since  a  city  editor 
is  generally  an  experienced  reporter  himself,  and  since  he 
makes  it  a  point  to  know  as  thoroughly  as  possible  his  city, 
its  people  and  affairs,  he  may  also  be  able  to  give  valuable 
hints  or  suggestions.  Otherwise,  the  instructions  the  re¬ 
porter  receives  with  his  assignments  may  be  meagre. 


186 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  extent  of  the  city  editor’s  duties  in  an  advisory 
capacity  as  they  relate  to  the  reporter’s  individual  work  in 
covering  assignments,  is  pointed  out  mainly  with  a  view  of 
showing  that  a  reporter  must  necessarily  assume  certain 
responsibilities.  The  beginner  should  not  infer  that  he 
must  be  extremely  cautious  in  asking  for  advice  or  in¬ 
structions  or  feel  any  hesitancy  about  conferring  with  the 
city  editor  about  those  things  which  he  deems  necessary. 
But  he  should  bear  in  mind  that  he  will  be  expected  to 
work  out  the  details  of  his  work,  himself,  and  that  the 
city  editor  has  no  time  to  conduct  a  school  of  instruction 
daily  on  problems  that  sooner  or  later  the  reporter  must 
solve  for  himself,  if  he  is  to  succeed. 

It  is  the  practice  in  most  newspaper  offices  for  the  re¬ 
porter  to  make  an  oral  report  to  the  city  editor  on 
his  return  to  the  office  from  an  assignment.  Especial¬ 
ly  is  this  custom  followed  when  the  news  obtained  is  of  any 
importance.  Hence  the  city  editor  becomes  the  judge  of 
the  value  of  the  news  procured  and  indicates  generally  the 
manner  of  treating  it — how  much  space  it  is  to  be  given 
and  how  it  is  to  be  written.  This  duty  of  the  city  editor, 
however,  does  not  remove  the  necessity  of  an  ability  to 
recognize  and  judge  news  on  the  part  of  the  reporter.  The 
reporter  uses  such  knowledge  in  the  actual  work  of  gather¬ 
ing  news.  The  city  editor  applies  his  knowledge  more  in 
the  handling  of  news.  Every  day,  almost,  there  comes  to 
him  more  local  news  than  it  is  possible  for  his  paper  to 
print.  Just  as  the  reporter  sifts  out  the  information  that  is 
important  to  his  story,  the  city  editor  sifts  out  and  pub¬ 
lishes  the  more  important  news.  Having  heard  a  brief 
account  of  the  information  the  reporter  has  obtained  on 
his  assignment,  in  addition  to  judging  it  solely  on  its 
merits  as  news,  it  may  be  necessary  for  him  to  compare  it 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


187 


with  other  news  already  obtained  or  in  prospect.  While 
a  city  editor  will  always  find  room  for  news  of  importance, 
a  story  may  be  given  much  less  space  one  day  than  a  story 
of  equal  news  value  will  receive  the  next  day. 

The  reporter  often  will  receive  no  instructions  as  to  the 
manner  of  writing  the  news  he  obtains.  The  city  editor 
may  indicate  certain  features  that  he  desires  made  prom¬ 
inent.  He  may  suggest  or  briefly  outline  an  introduction, 
or  order  a  story  written  in  a  certain  style,  humorous, 
serious,  or  otherwise.  The  writing  of  the  story,  how¬ 
ever,  as  a  whole  is  left  to  the  reporter  himself.  He  will  be 
expected  to  adapt  a  style  of  treatment  to  each  individual 
story  and  write  it  accordingly.  Should  the  city  editor 
give  directions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  story  is  to 
be  handled,  there  is  no  appeal  for  the  reporter.  First,  how¬ 
ever,  he  should  be  sure  that  he  has  made  his  oral  report 
clear  and  comprehensive.  If  he  does  this  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  city  editor  understands,  then  the  directions 
of  the  city  editor  must  be  followed.  Should  he  feel  that 
the  city  editor  has  not  understood,  then  the  reporter  should 
not  hesitate  to  make  sure  and  supplement  his  report. 

Through  his  position  the  city  editor  keeps  in  touch  with 
the  work  of  every  reporter  on  his  staff.  He  knows  just  what 
ability  each  has,  where  this  one  fails  or  where  that  one 
excels.  As  a  result  he  chooses  the  reporters  for  the  as¬ 
signments  in  accordance  with  their  ability  to  cover  them. 
Thus  the  incompetent  reporter  cannot  hope  for  an  as¬ 
signment  to  gather  important  news,  nor  will  the  beginner 
receive  such  an  assignment  until  he  has  demonstrated  his 
fitness  or  ability.  What  is  closely  akin  to  specialization 
in  reporting  has  become  apparent  because  some  develop 
ability  only  along  certain  lines — interviewing,  gathering 
news  on  a  particular  run,  gathering  news  of  a  certain 


188 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


character  or  writing  human  interest  stories.  Some  reporters, 
for  instance,  might  be  unsurpassed  in  unraveling  a  murder 
mystery  and  writing  a  murder  story,  but  were  they  assigned 
to  obtain  a  story  of  a  convention  of  club  women,  they  would 
not  succeed.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  reporter  become 
proficient  in  work  that  fits  only  special  cases.  When  the 
members  of  his  staff  are  scattered  about  the  city,  the  city 
editor  has  no  opportunity  to  choose  a  reporter  who  is  qualifi¬ 
ed  to  cover  an  assignment  of  a  special  character.  He  must 
have  men  who  can  cover  any  assignment,  men  who  can 
gather  and  write  news  of  any  character. 

Just  as  the  city  editor  knows  what  each  reporter  can 
do  individually  so  far  as  his  ability  is  concerned,  he  knows 
where  each  one  is  assigned  to  go  and  on  what  news  they 
are  working.  City  editors  keep  a  schedule  of  assignments 
and  the  reporter’s  name  is  written  opposite  the  assignment 
given  to  him.  By  consulting  the  schedule,  the  city  editor 
may  know  how  soon  each  reporter  may  be  expected  to 
return  to  the  office  and  where  and  how  he  can  communicate 
with  him,  if  such  is  possible.  Where  the  reporter  is  de¬ 
tained  an  unusually  long  time  or  uncovers  other  news  inde¬ 
pendent  of  his  assignment,  he  is  expected  to  communicate 
with  the  city  editor. 

It  becomes  one  of  the  city  editor’s  duties  to  see  that 
a  story  is  covered  quickly  and  completely.  Thus  it  hap¬ 
pens  that  two,  three  or  half  a  dozen  reporters  will  be  as¬ 
signed  to  the  same  story  or  to  assist  the  one  that  has 
uncovered  news  of  exceptional  importance.  The  city  edi¬ 
tors  purpose  is  to  get  the  news  and  get  it  quickly,  and 
to  accomplish  this,  often  he  will  send  all  his  reporters 
available,  or  all  he  can  spare  to  gather  news  worth  a  big 
story.  In  such  cases  he  may  detail  one  man  to  have 
general  charge  and  direct  the  work  of  the  others  at  the 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


189 


scene.  Or,  if  he  has  sufficient  information  at  hand  and 
can  judge  the  scope  of  the  news,  he  may  do  the  work  of 
directing  in  the  office,  instructing  each  reporter  specifically 
as  to  what  part  of  the  story  he  will  be  expected  to  cover. 

For  similar  reasons,  a  city  editor  may  assign  several  re¬ 
porters  to  any  late  news  that  may  develop.  To  show  the 
various  “ends”  to  an  important  news  story,  the  case  of 
the  General  Slocum  disaster  is  cited  in  an  article  by  Ed¬ 
ward  W.  Brady.  In  covering  the  burning  of  the  ex¬ 
cursion  steamer,  the  city  editor  of  one  of  the  New  York 
papers  made  out  this  list  of  assignments  as  soon  as  the 
first  news  of  the  disaster  reached  his  office : 

Slocum  accident — general  story, 

See  St.  Marks  church — 

See  federal  boat  inspectors — 

See  Knickerbocker  Steamboat  Co. — 

When  was  Slocum  (inspected — her  capacity — 

Overloaded  steamships — 

See  Collector  Stranahair — 

Home  of  victims  and  east  side — 

Other  big  steamship  disasters — 

Effect  on  river  excursions — 

Rescues  at  factories  in  Long  Island  City — 

Scenes  at  North  Brother  Island — 

History  of  Slocum — 

Injured  at  hospitals — 

See  captain  and  crew — • 

Each  of  these  assignments  was  essential  for  a  complete 
story  of  the  disaster.  The  reporters  sent  out  either  pro¬ 
cured  news  of  the  accident  itself,  or  news  bearing  on  the 
accident. 

Assistant  City  Editor.  The  city  editor,  because  of  the 
detail  of  his  work,  usually  has  an  assistant  or  assistants, 
the  number  naturally  depending  on  the  size  of  the  paper 


190 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


and  the  extent  of  its  field  for  local  news.  His  duties  must 
necessarily  be  included  in  those  of  the  city  editor.  While 
the  city  editor  may  delegate  certain  special  work  to  him, 
such  as  the  making  of  a  schedule  of  assignments,  reading 
the  newspapers  for  suggestions  for  stories,  etc.,  his  gen¬ 
eral  work  virtually  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  city  editor 
and  his  relation  to  the  reporters  the  same. 

Re-Write  Men.  All  copy  containing  local  news  of  a 
general  character  first  goes  to  the  city  editor.  He  scans 
it,  not  to  make  corrections  in  detail,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  judging  the  story  as  a  whole.  He  considers  its  length, 
its  make-up,  style  of  writing,  and  if  he  has  given  any  in¬ 
structions,  he  notes  whether  or  not  they  have  been  fol¬ 
lowed.  Should  the  story  as  it  is  written  not  meet  the 
requirements  demanded  by  the  city  editor,  or  if  the  reporter 
failed  to  write  it  in  the  manner  directed,  then,  if  there 
is  sufficient  time,  it  may  be  returned  to  the  reporter  for 
re-writing.  But  it  is  not  always  possible  for  the  city  edi¬ 
tor  to  return  the  story  to  its  author.  The  reporter  some¬ 
times  cannot  wait  until  the  city  editor  has  perused  his 
copy.  Other  assignments  await  him  and  he  is  out  of  the 
office  gathering  news.  In  such  instances  the  story  is  turned 
over  to  one  of  the  force  of  re-write  men.  These  men 
work  under  the  direction  of  the  city  editor  and  their 
special  duty  is  that  of  reconstructing  stories  and  preparing 
copy  for  the  editor  that  has  been  improperly  written.  The 
number  of  the  men  who  do  this  work  depends  entirely 
on  conditions,  the  size  of  the  paper,  etc.  Their  work 
should  not  be  confused  with  that  of  the  copy  readers. 
They  do  not  edit  copy  and  write  heads.  They  re-build 
stories. 

In  addition  the  re-write  men  generally  “take”  news  over 
the  telephone  or  any  news  not  gathered  by  reporters  that 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


191 


comes  to  the  office,  and  write  the  stories.  Re-write  men 
are  trained  reporters  and  are  particularly  adept  in  writing 
news  of  any  character. 

Copy  Readers.  From  the  city  editor  the  stories  go  to 
the  copy  readers.  Their  work  consists  of: 

1.  Editing. 

2.  Writing  headlines. 

If  conditions  were  ideal,  that  is,  if  reporters  submitted 
perfect  copy — copy  that  meets  all  requirements  as  to  man¬ 
ner  of  handling  the  story,  style  of  writing,  English,  etc., 
— it  would  seem  that  editing  would  be  unnecessary.  That 
such  conditions  have  never  been  attained,  however,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  all  copy  prepared  by  the  reporters 
is  read  and  edited  carefully  before  it  is  set  in  type.  While 
the  city  editor  may  not  hope  for  the  ideal,  his  aim  is  to 
have  reporters  submit  copy  so  nearly  perfect  that  it  will 
require  as  little  editing  as  possible. 

Assuming  even  that  the  reporter  is  as  capable  of  judg¬ 
ing  and  writing  news  as  the  copy  reader,  editing  acts 
as  a  safeguard.  Any  person,  especially  the  one  trained 
in  the  work,  who  reads  the  manuscript  of  another  will 
detect  errors  that  the  writer  himself  will  not  see.  Condi¬ 
tions,  such  as  those  pertaining  to  space,  late  developments 
affecting  the  news  contained  in  the  copy,  and  similar  things 
of  which  the  reporter  knows  nothing,  may  necessitate  the 
making  of  changes  in  the  copy  submitted.  Each  individual 
story,  also,  must  bear  certain  marks  for  the  guidance  of 
the  printer  and  these  cannot  always  be  made  without  a 
knowledge  of  other  news,  already  handled  or  expected. 

The  stories  as  they  come  from  the  reporters  may  be 
distributed  to  the  copy  readers  by  the  city  editor,  or  they 
may  be  given  by  him  to  a  head  copy  reader  who  distrib- 


192 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


utes  them.  If,  in  glancing  over  the  copy,  the  city  edi¬ 
tor  detects  any  errors  of  importance,  notes  any  parts  that 
should  be  changed,  or  desires  a  special  headline,  he  calls 
the  attention  of  the  copy  readers  to  these  things.  In  most 
newspaper  offices  the  copy  reading  desk  is  in  charge  of  a 
head  copy  reader  who  constantly  confers  with  the  city 
editor  about  the  stories  turned  over  to  him.  If  there  are 
any  special  instructions  to  be  followed  in  the  editing  and 
writing  of  headlines,  they  are  issued  to  the  other  copy 
readers  by  him.  While  the  stories  that  must  be  entirely 
re-written  or  re-constructed  generally  will  be  given  to  the 
re-write  men,  copy  readers  will  find  much  re-writing  to 
do.  In  editing,  the  following  are  some  of  the  more  im¬ 
portant  things  a  copy  reader  will  be  expected  to  accom¬ 
plish  : 

1.  Make  stories  readable.  (No  matter  in  what  condition  the 
copy  may  be ;  no  matter  how  badly  written  the  story  is  when  it 
reaches  the  copy  reader,  it  must  be  a  smooth  reading  story  when  it 
leaves  his  desk  and  goes  to  the  printer.) 

2.  Re-write  c»r  improve  the  leads  that  are  weak. 

3.  Cut  down  stories  to  the  length  desired  by  the  city  editor. 

4.  Correct  all  errors  in  English,  punctuation  and  spelling. 

5.  Eliminate  unnecessary  words,  trite  or  hackneyed  phrases  and 
expressions. 

6.  Eliminate  all  words,  phrases  or  expressions  not  in  acord- 
ance  with  the  style  adopted  by  the  paper. 

7.  Arrange  the  various  features  of  the  story  in  their  proper 
order;  make  prominent  the  feature  or  features  which  are  most 
striking,  important,  unusual  or  which  will  arouse  the  most  general 
interest. 

8.  Watch  for  libelous  statements. 

9.  Detect  errors,  inaccuracies  and  repetitions. 

10.  Mark  copy  for  the  guidance  of  the  printers. 

With  these  varied  things  to  watch,  the  copy  reader  must 
work  quickly.  It  is  for  him  to  bolster  up  the  weak,  poorly 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


193 


written  stories  in  every  way,  paying  particular  attention 
to  the  points  named.  Although  he  confers  with  the  head 
copy  reader  or  the  city  editor  and  receives  advice  or  in¬ 
structions  on  questions  on  which  he  has  any  doubt,  the 
details  of  the  work  are  left  to  him.  Since  his  work  is  not 
that  of  turning  stories  into  pure  English  merely,  he  must 
be  more  than  an  able  writer.  He  must  be  trained  also 
in  judging  news.  He  will  be  held  responsible  for  any 
errors  that  escape  him  but  the  reporter  who  made  the 
errors  will  be  held  equally  responsible. 

The  reporter  cannot  write  his  stories  carelessly,  assum¬ 
ing  that  all  mistakes  will  be  corrected  by  the  copy  readers. 
The  city  editor  will  insist  on  “clean”  copy,  copy  that  needs 
little  editing.  The  reporter  who  does  not  strive  to  that 
end,  who  constantly  makes  errors  of  any  kind  and  violates 
the  rules  of  style  for  his  paper,  will  find  that  a  reason  for 
ultimate  failure. 

When  the  story  has  been  edited  there  still  remains  for 
the  copy  reader  an  important  task — writing  the  headlines. 
Newspapers  of  the  present  time  attach  great  importance  to 
headlines,  with  the  result  that  they  are  no  longer  mere 
labels.  They  do  more  than  separate  the  news  matter  on 
a  printed  page.  They  are  designed  (1)  to  tell  the  story; 
(2)  to  attract  the  reader’s  attention.  To  be  effective,  they 
must  tell  or  at  least  outline  the  news  contained  in  the  story ; 
or  they  must  set  forth  the  salient  news  feature.  The  hasty 
reader  of  a  newspaper  should  be  able  by  a  glance  at  the 
headlines  to  learn  the  character  of  the  news,  who  or  what 
the  story  is  about,  and  thus  determine  whether  the  matter 
interests  him  personally  enough  to  warrant  his  reading  the 
story  for  the  details.  The  copy  reader  will  be  expected  also 
to  put  life  and  action  into  the  headlines.  They  must  not 
13 


194 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


be  dull.  Weak,  dull  headlines  serve  as  a  warning  not 
to  read  the  story  that  follows. 

Headlines  are  printed  above  all  stories  except  those 
grouped  into  special  departments  such  as  “City  News,” 
“Deaths,”  “Marine  News,”  etc.  Every  newspaper  has 
its  own  fixed  forms  and  follows  to  a  large  extent  its 
own  rules  in  writing  them.  A  newspaper  may  have  half 
a  dozen,  a  dozen,  or  even  more  styles  of  headlines — each 
of  fixed  size  and  form  requiring  certain  type — for  use  in 
its  news  columns.  From  these,  if  the  city  editor  or  the 
head  copy  reader  has  not  designated  the  one  desired, 
the  copy  reader  selects  the  style  best  suited  for  the  story 
he  is  handling. 

In  writing  headlines  the  copy  reader  must  follow  spe¬ 
cific  typographical  rules.  Examples  of  headlines  and  their 
typographical  construction  are  shown  in  a  later  chapter. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  copy  reader  must  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  make-up  of  each  style  of  headlines  used 
on  his  paper.  To  write  headlines  that  are  effective  and 
still  make  them  conform  to  typographical  rules  it  will  be 
seen,  is  not  an  easy  task,  but  one  that  requires  a  good 
judgment  of  news,  of  news  features,  and  training  in  a 
particular  style  of  writing  and  expression. 

In  most  newspaper  offices  the  various  forms  of  headlines 
used  are  known  by  numbers  to  the  editors,  copy  readers 
and  compositors.  When  the  compositor  receives  the  copy 
for  a  head  he  looks  first  at  the  number  written  in  one 
corner  and  thus  knows  immediately  the  size  and  form  de¬ 
sired,  and  the  type  to  be  used  in  each  line.  The  size  of 
the  heads  selected  for  the  individual  stories  by  the  editors 
and  copy  readers  depends  entirely  on  the  character  of  the 
story  and  the  degree  of  its  importance.  The  length  of  the 
story  may  be  considered,  but  more  often  because  the  longer 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


195 


a  news  story,  generally  the  more  important  is  the  news. 
The  larger  heads — those  that  are  set  in  large  type  and 
occupy  more  space — are  reserved  for  the  news  stories  of 
striking  importance  and  are  used,  of  course,  to  catch  the 
reader's  eyes  first  and  direct  his  attention  to  those  stories. 
What  are  known  as  “scare”  headlines  are  used  for  news 
surpassing  in  importance  that  which  is  printed  day  by  day. 
Such  headlines  are  larger  in  S(ize  and  type  than  those  reg¬ 
ularly  used  by  the  paper.  They  are  of  a  fixed  form  that 
necessitates  their  being  written  to  conform  to  typographical 
rules,  as  in  the  cases  of  the  others.  Newspapers  using 
headlines  of  more  than  one  column  in  width,  whether  they 
are  regular  or  “scare”  heads,  have  a  fixed  form  which 
is  followed  in  writing  them. 

The  copy  reader  should  be  as  careful  to  keep  out  all  edi¬ 
torial  comment  and  libelous  statements  from  his  headlines, 
as  he  is  in  eliminating  them  from  the  story  while  editing 
it.  Also,  the  headlines  should  be  comprehensive  and  give 
both  sides  just  as  the  story  should,  especially  in  news  per¬ 
taining  to  charges  against  persons  or  their  conduct  and 
actions.  Nothing  not  actually  contained  or  alluded  to  in 
the  story  should  be  placed  in  the  headlines. 

Photographers  and  Artists.  For  the  purpose  of  making 
illustrations  for  all  classes  of  matter  printed,  the  larger 
newspapers  maintain  an  art  department.  Because  of  the 
extensive  use  of  pictures  in  news  stories  some  of  the  artists 
and  photographers  in  this  department  work  under  the  di¬ 
rection  of  the  city  editor.  As  soon  as  the  city  editor  learns 
of  a  news  story  he  considers  the  possibility  of  a  picture. 
Where  the  news  is  of  enough  importance  and  there  are 
photographs  already  in  existence,  such  as  photographs  of 
persons,  buildings  or  scenes,  the  reporter  will  be  expected 
to  procure  them.  But  if  views  of  crowds,  scenes  of  acci- 


196 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


dents,  murders,  and  other  similar  events  are  desired,  a 
photographer  or  artist  is  assigned  to  get  them.  In  such 
cases  they  must  work  without  delay,  often  accompanying 
the  reporter  assigned  to  the  story,  for  the  time  in  which 
scenes  of  this  character  may  be  procured  is  extremely 
limited. 

Sporting  Editor-  The  sporting  editor  is  responsible  for 
the  news  of  all  sporting  events — boxing,  wrestling,  racing, 
baseball,  football,  athletic  contests,  contests  in  all  in-door 
or  out-door  games — and  news  concerning  persons  who  par¬ 
ticipate  in  such  events  or  who  are  known  in  the  sporting 
world.  In  addition  to  editing  and  directing  the  work  of 
the  local  sporting  news,  the  telegraph  copy  containing  this 
class  of  news,  also  goes  to  his  desk  and  is  handled  in  his 
department.  Generally  the  news  in  his  department  is 
grouped  on  a  certain  page  or  pages.  In  cases  of  sporting 
news  of  unusual  importance,  the  sporting  editor  may  confer 
with  the  city  editor,  although  the  two  departments  are  dis¬ 
tinct,  and  if  it  is  believed  that  the  story  is  of  great  general 
interest,  it  may  be  handled  in  conjunction  and  printed  out¬ 
side  of  the  sporting  columns. 

The  sporting  editor  has  an  assistant,  or  assistants  and  a 
staff  of  reporters  for  gathering  news.  The  number  of  these 
reporters  depends  on  the  extent  to  which  the  paper  prints 
sporting  news  and  the  size  of  the  local  field  to  be  covered. 
Naturally  the  number  will  be  small  in  comparison  with  the 
city  editor’s  staff,  for  they  gather  and  write  only  the  one 
class  of  news. 

The  sporting  editor  and  those  who  work  under  him, 
must  have  more  than  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  world’s 
sports.  Success  in  this  branch  of  news  gathering  will  re¬ 
quire  specialization.  To  write  or  handle  comprehensively 
news  of  a  football  game,  baseball  game,  polo  game,  or 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


197 


similar  contests,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  intricate  rules 
of  the  game  ;  who  the  players  are  and  something  of  their  past 
performances ;  where  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the  play¬ 
ers  or  teams  lie,  as  well  as  a  general  knowledge  of  the  more 
or  less  technical  terms,  manner  of  scoring,  and  other 
things.  The  same  will  apply  to  racing,  bowling,  boxing, 
or  any  other  sporting  event  that  might  be  mentioned. 

Reporters  who  gather  sporting  news  perform  their  work 
in  the  same  manner  as  those  who  gather  general  news. 
They  receive  their  assignments  from  the  sporting  editor, 
report  to  him  on  their  return  to  the  office,  and  write  their 
stories  subject  to  his  suggestions  and  directions. 

Society  Editor.  News  of  the  social  activities  in  the 
immediate  territory  in  which  the  newspaper  is  published, 
is  gathered,  written  and  handled  by  or  under  the  direction 
of  the  society  editor.  Since  this  class  of  news  largely  con¬ 
cerns  women  and  women’s  affairs,  the  position  is  generally 
held  by  a  woman. 

The  society  editor  may  have  an  assistant,  also  reporters 
who  receive  assignments  to  cover  entertainments,  recep¬ 
tions,  dances,  weddings,  or  similar  social  events,  and  gather 
personal  notes  concerning  those  known  socially. 

The  scope  of  society  news,  especially  that  published  in  the 
larger  newspapers,  is  restricted.  In  a  large  community,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  record  the  social  activities  of  all 
persons  in  that  community.  Hence  the  modern  news¬ 
paper  confines  its  news  of  this  class  within  certain  limits, 
publishing  only  that  which  concerns  the  persons  generally 
or  widely  known,  or  those  commonly  known  as  “in  society.” 
With  the  society  editor  the  term  “in  society”  is  construed 
more  or  less  technically.  It  applies  to  those  who  devote 
a  good  share  of  their  time  to  social  duties ;  those  who  have 
acquired  a  certain  social  standing,  through  wealth  or  other 


198 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


influence;  those  who  frequently  entertain  or  are  in  at¬ 
tendance  frequently  at  recogirzed  social  events ;  those  of 
such  prominence  that  their  activities  socially  become  a  mat¬ 
ter  of  general  interest.  It  is  from  these  that  society  news 
emanates  chiefly.  Unlike  other  classes  of  news,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  importance  of  society  news  is  not  based  so 
much  on  the  magnitude  of  the  event,  the  unusualness,  etc., 
but  more  on  the  class  or  prominence  of  the  persons  con¬ 
cerned. 

The  writer  of  society  news  will  find  that  much  of  the 
copy  prepared  will  consist  of  small  items  of  a  few  lines  or 
paragraphs.  But  in  the  more  important  news,  the  society 
reporter  will  find  opportunities  especially  for  two  things, 
originality  in  expression,  and  descriptive  writing.  Social 
events,  since  they  follow  custom  and  are  attended  mostly 
by  the  same  persons  or  class  of  persons,  offer  little  variety. 
The  one,  then,  who  can  vary  the  news  stories  of  such 
events  with  an  originality  in  writing  and  expression  will 
do  well. 

Financial  Editor.  Under  the  heading  of  financial  news 
come  all  matters  relating  to  money  markets  and  live¬ 
stock  and  produce  markets,  including  quotations,  statistics, 
and  reports  of  business  and  industry  of  all  kinds.  This 
news,  both  local  and  telegraph,  is  handled  in  the  depart¬ 
ment  headed  by  the  financial  editor,  who  has  his  staff  of 
reporters  for  gathering  and  writing  the  news,  and  men 
to  assist  in  the  handling  of  copy.  Generally  a  certain 
amount  of  space  is  allotted  each  day  to  this  class  of  news 
and  the  stories  are  published  on  a  certain  page  (or  pages). 
This  page  is  known  in  the  newspaper  office  as  the  finan¬ 
cial  or  market  page. 

In  addition  to  those  duties  attendant  on  the  responsibility 
of  gathering  the  news  of  the  local  markets  and  handling 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


199 


the  telegraph  news  of  a  similar  nature,  the  financial  editor 
does  much  writing.  This  writing  may  consist  of  daily 
financial  articles ;  digests  of  financial  conditions,  both  local 
and  of  the  country  at  large;  general  story  (lead  to  the 
market  quotations)  of  the  market  activities  of  the  day, 
etc.  Unlike  the  matter  in  other  news  departments  his 
writing  on  money  and  finance  may  consist  of  editorial 
comment,  giving  the  news  of  the  day  in  the  financial 
world,  and  his  conclusions  as  to  the  probable  effect  of  the 
conditions  which  arise.  His  editorials  may  be  printed  on  the 
market  page  or  in  the  editorial  columns.  To  do  this, 
naturally,  the  financial  editor  must  qualify  as  an  expert 
on  matters  pertaining  to  finance.  In  an  article  on  ‘‘The 
Newspaper  and  Wall  Street,”  Edwin  Lefevre  says: 

The  financial  editors  of  those  New  York  papers  which  treat 
Wall  Street  seriously  are  in  reality  financial  specialists.  *  *  * 
The  financial  editors  have  studied  our  financial  history.  They  are 
men  who  are  able  to  deduce  from  dry  statistics  facts  of  interest 
to  human  beings.  *  *  *  The  financial  editor  is  a  trained  news¬ 

paper  man  who  knows  the  value  of  news,  who  understands  the 
money  market,  foreign  exchange  and  its  complexities,  who  must  be 
able  to  analyze  general  trade  as  well  as  monetary  conditions.  *  *  * 
But  much  more  than  technical  attainments  are  necessary  for  the 
Wall  Street  man  of  a  great  daily  has  to  be  much  more  than  a 
financial  writer.  Like  the  political  reporter  he  must  know  the  is¬ 
sues  of  the  day,  but  he  must  know  far  better  the  leaders  who  force 
the  issues  or  give  them  expression. 

Much  of  the  news  gathered  each  day  by  the  reporters 
who  work  under  the  financial  editor  is  routine  matter — 
quotations,  statistics,  trades,  sales,  and  receipts  and,  in 
fact,  data  of  every  kind  concerning  the  money  market, 
livestock,  produce,  grain,  metal,  cotton,  provisions,  etc. 
The  extent  to  which  a  paper  will  cover  such  news  depends 
entirely  on  the  policy  of  the  paper.  Some  afternoon  news- 


200 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


papers  carry  the  market  news  up  to  the  time  of  going  to 
press  and  other  issues  special  “market  editions”  covering 
all  activities  up  to  the  time  the  market  closes.  The  morn¬ 
ing  paper,  of  course,  is  in  position  to  give  the  market  news 
of  the  previous  day  ,in  full  in  its  regular  edition. 

Aside  from  the  financial  articles  written  by  the  financial 
editor  and  the  routine  matter,  many  stories  of  general  in¬ 
terest  and  news  value  are  gathered  and  written  by  the 
financial  reporters.  A  panic,  a  boom,  or  a  slump  in  stocks, 
an  important  trade  or  deal,  important  transactions  or  ac¬ 
tivities  of  any  kind  will  give  material  for  special  news 
stories,  stories  given  prominence  outside  of  the  routine 
matter.  To  be  successful  then  the  financial  reporter  must 
combine  a  technical  knowledge  with  his  ability  to  judge  news. 
Such  stories  often  may  be  of  such  importance,  or  of  such 
general  interest,  that  they  are  printed  in  the  general  news 
columns.  They  will  be  written  and  handled  by  the  finan¬ 
cial  editor  or  men  in  his  department,  however,  because  of 
their  knowledge  of  financial  matters. 

Other  Departmental  Editors-  The  extent  to  which  both 
local  and  telegraph  news  may  be  handled  in  special  depart¬ 
ments  depends  much  on  the  individual  newspaper  and  the 
character  of  news  that  predominates  in  a  locality.  The 
large  newspapers  will  utilize  an  exchange  department,  in 
charge  of  an  exchange  editor,  to  prepare  selected  material 
from  other  newspapers  and  periodicals  for  reprint.  Lit¬ 
erary  editors,  or  book  reviewers,  deal  with  news  of  liter¬ 
ature  and  reviews  of  current  books  and  periodicals.  Like¬ 
wise  dramatic  editors  are  responsible  for  the  news  of  the 
stage  and  the  reviews  of  plays.  In  addition,  because  the 
news  of  such  activities  is  considered  suitable  for  publi¬ 
cation  in  departments,  there  may  be  the  so-called  real 
estate,  religious,  shipping,  railroad,  mining,  motor  car  edi- 


OFFICE  ORGANIZATION 


201 


tors,  editor  of  a  woman’s  page  and  others,  each  with  an  in¬ 
dividual  news  field  to  cover. 

While  the  material  gathered  and  handled  under  the  di¬ 
rection  of  the  Sunday  editor  is  not  news,  strictly  speaking, 
some  mention  should  be  made  of  this  department.  The 
special  Sunday  magazine  sections,  presenting  illustrated  mat¬ 
ter  and  features  of  a  wide  range,  are  issued  under  his 
direction.  His  material  is  procured  from  various  sources 
■ — syndicates,  special  writers,  reporters  and  members  of  his 
own  staff — depending  upon  the  size  and  character  of  his 
special  Sunday  publication. 


TELEGRAPH  ^EWS. 


In  addition  to  the  local  news,  the  big  daily  newspaper 
aims  to  give  its  readers  the  news  of  the  world  at  large — 
telegraph  news,  including  all  matters  domestic  and  foreign, 
of  world-wide  interest  or  because  of  local  conditions,  of 
special  interest  to  those  in  the  section  or  community  in 
which  the  paper  is  published.  Telegraph  news  comes  from 
outside  the  paper’s  local  news  field.  It  comes  from  that 
field  not  covered  by  local  news-gatherers  or  reporters.  It 
;.s  considered  equally  as  important  as  local  news  and  the 
publisher  of  the  modern  metropolitan  daily  puts  as  much 
stress  on  procuring  it  and  presenting  it. 

Press  Associations.  System  is  employed  in  the  gather¬ 
ing  of  telegraph  news  as  in  the  gathering  of  local  news. 
News  of  this  class  reaches  the  newspapers  through  press 
associations  (extensive  news-gathering  organizations), 
syndicates,  special  correspondents,  and  staff  correspondents. 

Of  the  large  news-gathering  organizations,  one,  the  As¬ 
sociated  Press,  is  the  oldest  and  for  that  reason  is  described 
here. 

A  history  of  the  Associated  Press  is  in  a  way  a  history 
of  the  growth  of  the  American  newspaper  of  the  last  half 
century.  The  first  news-gathering  association  of  the  United 
States  was  formed  in  the  early  forties,  by  two  or  three 
New  York  City  newspapers,  which  originally  collected  their 
news  from  Washington  by  carrier  and  post-boy  and  their 
foreign  news  from  incoming  steamers.  When  the  telegraph 
had  become  firmly  established  similar  associations  were  or¬ 
ganized  in  different  parts  of  the  Eastern  and  Central  States. 
They  exchanged  news  with  each  other  and  finally  in  1882, 

202 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


203 


merged  into  one  organization,  which  immediately  assumed 
national  proportions. 

The  original  purpose  of  the  Associated  Press  was  the 
control  and  administration  of  the  news  gathering  and 
distributing  business  of  the  country  by  the  newspapers  them¬ 
selves,  and  this  principle  has  been  adhered  to.  While  it 
is  in  the  form  of  a  corporation  the  association  is  essentially 
a  co-operative  society,  based  upon  an  agreement  between 
its  members  to  collect  and  furnish  news  to  each  other.  It 
is  not  engaged  in  news  gathering  as  a  commercial  enter¬ 
prise  and  it  carries  on  its  business  without  any  effort  at 
profit-making.  For  administrative  purposes,  the  Associated 
Press  organization  consists  of  the  general  manager  with 
headquarters  at  New  York  City;  an  assistant  general  man¬ 
ager,  with  an  office  at  Chicago ;  a  superintendent  of  leased 
lines  and  several  division  superintendents.  There  are  also 
a  president,  vice-presidents  and  directors,  besides  advisory 
board  in  each  of  the  divisions,  all  made  up  of  leading  edi¬ 
tors  whose  papers  have  an  Associated  Press  franchise.  In 
addition,  agencies  with  staffs  are  maintained  in  the  principal 
cities. 

In  collecting  news,  every  available  source  is  made  use 
of.  In  all  cities  the  newspapers  which  are  members  fur¬ 
nish  not  only  the  local  news  gathered  by  their  reporters,  but 
the  telegraph  news  which  they  gather  as  “special”  from  their 
own  correspondents. 

The  Associated  Press  covers  Canada,  through  an  ar¬ 
rangement  with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  by  which 
that  company  gathers  news  all  along  its  line.  Alaska  and 
the  islands  of  the  North  and  South  Pacific  are  covered 
by  way  of  San  Francisco  and  Seattle,  while  news  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  is  sent  by  cable  from  Honolulu  to  San 
Francisco.  For  the  purpose  of  gathering  other  foreign 


204 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


news,  offices  are  maintained  throughout  Europe  and  the 
Orient.  The  Associated  Press  has  correspondents  in  the 
principal  cities,  covering  every  country.  It  also  has  con¬ 
tract  relations  with  the  different  news  agencies  all  over 
the  world. 

The  amount  of  news  distributed  daily,  at  each  of  the 
more  important  offices,  aggregates  possibly  fifty  thousand 
words,  or  the  equivalent  of  thirty-five  columns  of  the  aver¬ 
age  newspaper.  The  news  is  sent  over  wires  leased  by 
the  association.  In  order  to  reach  the  highest  speed,  a 
code  is  employed  by  the  sending  or  transmitting  operator, 
in  which  single  letters  stand  for  words,  or  groups  of  let¬ 
ters  for  whole  phrases.  Sheet  by  sheet,  as  the  news  is 
received,  it  is  sent  to  the  different  telegraph  editors.  Before 
it  reaches  its  destination  a  news  story  may  be  relayed  several 
times.  For  instance,  an  item  starting  out  of  New  York, 
is  sent  on  a  circuit  that  touches  all  the  leading  cities  be¬ 
tween  there  and  Chicago,  being  copied  simultaneously  by 
operators  at  a  dozen  different  points.  At  Chicago  it  is 
relayed  north,  south  and  west.  At  Kansas  City  another 
relay  is  made,  still  another  at  Denver,  and  again  at  Salt 
Lake  and  Portland  to  northern  points  and  at  San  Fran¬ 
cisco,  south. 

'  * 

The  Associated  Press  must,  of  necessity,  be  not  only 

impartial  in  its  handling  of  news,  but  as  a  co-operative  in¬ 
stitution  must  be  absolutely  non-partisan,  non-sectarian  and 
broad.  Its  clientele  of  every  shade  must  be  satisfied.  One 
story,  although  written  in  1889,  still  stands  forth  as  the 
greatest  single  telegraphic  report  on  record.  It  was  the 
Associated  Press  story  of  the  hurricane  that  destroyed  six 
battleships  in  the  harbor  at  Apia,  Samoa.  It  was  the 
work  of  John  P.  Dunning,  and  it  was  so  perfectly  written 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


205 


that  it  has  obtained  a  place  in  the  text  books  of  several  of 
the  public  schools  of  the  country. 

Serving  the  newspapers  of  the  country  and  foreign  news¬ 
papers  with  news  of  America  there  are  in  the  United 
States  two  large,  independent  press  associations,  the  United 
Press  and  the  International  News  Service.  These  organi¬ 
zations  serve  any  newspapers  wishing  to  procure  their  serv¬ 
ice  at  a  fixed  price.  They  obtain  their  news  in  part  from 
the  newspapers  served,  and  maintain  their  salaried  corre¬ 
spondents  in  the  large  cities.  In  the  smaller  places  the  cor¬ 
respondents  are  paid  according  to  the  amount  of  news 
they  send.  These  associations  are  not  on  a  co-operative 
basis.  They  have  their  leased  wires,  also  their  distributing 
offices  or  headquarters  in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

Besides  these  press  associations  many  of  the  metropolitan 
dailies  maintain  news  bureaus  and  sell  news  to  other 
papers  in  the  country.  These  bureaus  may  furnish  in 
detail  important  news  gathered  in  the  paper’s  immediate 
territory,  or  news  of  the  world  at  large,  gathered  by  the 
paper’s  many  correspondents. 

There  are  in  existence  also  many  syndicates  providing 
services  from  which  newspapers  may  procure  news,  edi¬ 
torial  comment,  interpretative  articles,  special  articles  in 
particular  fields,  illustrative  material  (news  photographs, 
cartoons,  comic  strips,  etc.,)  and  features  of  a  wide  variety. 

While  some  of  the  small  country  dailies  and  weeklies 
aim  to  give  only  the  local  news,  news  gathered  in  the 
immediate  community  or  surrounding  communities,  others 
are  able  to  give  a  summary  at  least  of  the  important  tele¬ 
graph  news  of  the  day,  by  the  use  of  plate  matter,  although 
it  lacks  several  hours  of  being  “fresh.”  Companies  have 
been  formed  in  nearly  all  the  large  cities  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  this  plate  matter  to  country  papers.  Such  a 


206 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


company  takes  the  important  telegraph  news  from  the 
early  editions  of  the  local  papers,  condenses  it  and  sends 
it  to  printers.  It  is  set  in  type  and  then  stereotype  plates 
are  made,  one  for  each  of  the  country  papers  subscribing. 
By  express,  these  plates,  ready  for  country  editors’  com¬ 
posing  forms,  containing  the  news  published  in  the  daily 
papers  in  the  morning,  reach  their  destination  within  a 
territory  of  150  or  200  miles,  in  time  for  an  afternoon 
edition.  In  a  similar  way  plates  are  made  for  morning 
editions  of  the  country  papers.  They  may  be  in  form  of 
full  pages  or  in  column  lengths,  and  in  such  shape  that  the 
country  publisher  may  cut  them,  distributing  the  various 
stories  in  his  forms. 

Special  Correspondence.  Few  large  daily  papers  de¬ 
pend  on  either  press  associations  or  special  correspondents, 
alone,  for  their  telegraph  news.  Because  of  the  extensive 
facilities  of  the  news-gatheiring  associations  and  their  means 
for  furnishing  the  news  at  a  much  smaller  cost,  most  of 
the  metropolitan  dailies  receive  the  bulk  of  their  telegraph 
matter  from  these  associations,  supplementing  it  with  the 
news  gathered  by  the  special  correspondents. 

Of  the  special  correspondents  maintained  by  a  news¬ 
paper,  there  are  two  classes :  Those  stationed  at  important 
news  centers,  who  generally  are  employed  at  a  regular 
salary,  and  those  at  the  less  important  points,  who  are  paid 
at  space  rates,  that  is,  according  to  the  amount  of  news 
they  send  in.  In  the  class  first  mentioned,  the  one  who 
holds  what  is  considered  as  the  most  responsible  position 
of  all  correspondents  and  who  is  most  generally  known,  is 
the  one  stationed  at  the  national  capital — the  Washington 
correspondent. 

The  Washington  correspondent,  or  the  man  in  charge 
of  the  newspaper’s  bureau  in  Washington,  must  be  a  trained 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


207 


reporter,  a  thoroughly  capable  newspaper  man.  His  work 
is  reporting,  but  really  specialized  reporting.  He  must  be 
conversant  with  national  and  international  affairs,  know 
conditions  in  national  and  international  politics,  know  public 
men  and  know  the  intricacies  of  national  legislation.  With 
these,  he  must  combine  a  knowledge  of  the  character  or  the 
general  policy  of  his  paper,  knowledge  of  conditions,  po¬ 
litical  and  otherwise,  in  the  territory  in  which  his  paper 
circulates  chiefly,  and  possess  an  ability  to  judge,  gather 
and  write  and  interpret  news. 

All  the  larger  daily  papers,  although  they  may  be  supplied 
with  Washington  news  by  a  news-gathering  association, 
have  a  Washington  correspondent,  or  a  bureau  headed  by 
him,  at  the  capital.  The  correspondent  may  gather  and  send 
news  to  his  paper  that  will  be  exclusive  or  supplemental  to 
that  procured  by  any  of  the  news-gathering  associations. 
He  sends  news  also  that  is  important  to  his  paper  alone,  not 
handled  by  news-gathering  associations.  In  the  news  sent 
out  by  the  particular  association  serving  his  paper,  there 
may  be  stories  of  particular  value  to  his  paper  that  have 
been  written  briefly  or  in  a  general  way.  In  such  cases 
he  will  send  a  special  story — in  greater  detail  and  from 
a  local  point  of  view.  A  news-gathering  association,  in 
serving  many  papers,  enlarges  or  condenses  news,  according 
to  its  importance  in  the  various  sections  of  the  country  in 
which  it  is  to  be  published,  but  it  cannot  take  into  con¬ 
sideration  purely  local  conditions  which  may  add  greatly 
to  the  importance  of  news  for  a  paper.  Familiar  with 
such  local  conditions  and  the  news  affected  by  them,  stories 
of  this  kind  are  sent  to  the  paper  by  the  correspondent. 

Metropolitan  papers  have  special  correspondents,  also, 
at  the  state  capital,  foreign  capitals,  and  some  of  the  large 
cities  of  this  country.  The  work  of  the  correspondent  at 


208 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  state  capital,  who  finds  much  news  of  local  interest  to 
his  paper  which  has  been  handled  briefly  or  not  at  all 
by  the  press  associations,  is  similar  in  many  ways  to  that 
of  the  Washington  correspondent.  The  correspondents  in 
the  foreign  capitals  and  in  the  large  cities,  if  their  papers 
are  served  by  a  news-gathering  association,  supplement  the 
service  of  that  association  with  special  articles  of  any  kind 
and  special  stories  containing  news  of  particular  value  to 
their  respective  papers. 

Often  a  newspaper,  its  news  bureau,  or  some  person  con¬ 
nected  with  a  newspaper  in  one  large  city  acts  as  cor¬ 
respondent  for  a  paper  in  another.  Before  finding  any 
news  story  of  importance  on  the  telegraph  wire,  he  will  be 
expected  to  “query”  the  editor,  that  is,  write  a  brief  out¬ 
line  of  the  news,  stating  what  length  of  story  he  is  per- 
pared  to  send.  A  “query”  of  the  Boston  correspondent  of 
a  Chicago  newspaper  might  read  something  like  this : 

“John  Jones,  president  Chicago  Grain  Company,  Chicago, 
dangerously  injured  in  runaway  here.  400.” 

The  telegraph  editor  of  the  paper  receiving  the  “query” 
thus  learns  of  news  that  is  of  local  interest.  The  press 
association  may  handle  the  story  only  briefly,  so  he  orders 
a  special  story  from  the  correspondent.  The  number,  “400,” 
at  the  end  of  the  query  means  that  the  correspondent  can 
furnish  400  words  on  the  accident.  The  telegraph  editor 
may  order  him  to  send  that  number,  or  more  or  less, 
according  to  his  judgment  of  the  value  of  the  news.  Facts 
telling  something  about  John  Jones,  his  business,  when  and 
why  he  went  to  Boston,  etc.,  will  be  gathered  by  local 
reporters  of  the  Chicago  paper  or  possibly  be  procured 
from  the  newspaper’s  morgue.  Should  the  correspondent 
fail  to  receive  an  answer  to  his  query,  he  does  not  send 
the  story.  The  telegraph  editor  does  not  answer  queries 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


209 


when  he  already  has  the  news  mentioned  or  does  not 
desire  it. 

The  work  of  these  correspondents  includes,  also,  the 
making  of  investigations  and  gathering  of  news  on  orders 
from  the  editors  of  the  paper  they  serve.  An  important 
local  story  in  St.  Louis,  for  instance,  may  not  be  complete 
without  facts  concerning  persons,  events,  conditions,  etc., 
connected  with  the  story,  which  can  be  procured  only  in 
Philadelphia.  Such  a  story  would  have  what  is  known  in 
newspaper  offices  as  a  Philadelphia  “end.”  The  St.  Louis 
paper’s  correspondent  in  Philadelphia,  then,  would  be  notifi¬ 
ed  of  the  story  briefly  and  ordered  to  gather  and  send  the 
missing  facts  from  that  city. 

For  gathering  the  news  in  the  territory  in  which  the 
paper  has  most  of  its  out-of-town  circulation,  news  that  is 
of  value  more  because  of  its  local  significance  than  because 
it  arouses  interest  everywhere,  the  metropolitan  paper 
usually  has  a  correspondent  in  each  of  the  towns  of  any 
importance  within  150  to  200  miles  of  the  city  in  which  it 
is  published.  A  correspondent  of  this  kind  is  generally 
paid  at  space  rates.  He  may  serve  papers  in  various  cities, 
but  never  rival  papers  in  the  same  city.  Where  there  is 
any  doubt  about  the  news  being  desired,  or  if  the  news 
is  of  unusual  importance,  he  sends  queries  and  awaits  the 
instructions  of  the  telegraph  editor.  His  stories  are  sent  by 
telegraph,  not  skeletonized,  but  written  out  in  full,  or, 
if  impossible  to  get  a  telegraph  wire,  he  uses  the  long 
distance  telephone.  If  he  is  within  a  comparatively  short 
distance  of  the  city  in  which  the  paper  is  published,  the 
mail  service  may  permit  him  to  write  the  early  news 
and  send  it  by  letter.  Stories,  other  than  those  containing 
“spot”  news,  are  generally  mailed  by  the  correspondents  in 
this  territory. 

14 


210 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  correspondent  in  a  small  town  serving  a  big  daily 
which  circulates  in  the  immediate  territory  is  really  a  re¬ 
porter  for  that  paper.  He  is  responsible  to  the  paper 
for  the  news  of  this  town  and  community,  just  as  the  staff 
reporter  on  a  “run”  is  responsible  to  the  city  editor  for 
the  news  on  his  run.  He  should  have  all  of  the  qualifica¬ 
tions  of  a  reporter  in  the  matter  of  judging,  gathering  and 
writing  news. 

In  one  respect,  however,  his  work  differs  from  that  of  the 
reporter  on  the  city  editor’s  staff — the  value  of  the  news 
he  gathers  and  sends  must  be  determined  from  a  different 
point  of  view.  His  judgment  of  news  cannot  be  based 
on  the  circulation  of  the  paper  in  his  own  town  and  com¬ 
munity,  but  he  must  consider  its  circulation  as  a  whole  and 
send  only  that  news  calculated  to  interest  the  average  reader. 
Hence  matter  that  is  purely  local,  matter  that  is  of  im¬ 
portance  or  of  interest  to  those  in  his  particular  locality, 
generally  does  not  constitute  news  important  enough  to  send 
out.  In  determining  the  value  of  matter  for  telegraph  news, 
news  that  is  not  to  be  published  or  circulated  in  any  par¬ 
ticular  locality,  the  correspondent  must  consider: 

1.  Will  it  interest  the  average  reader  anywhere? 

2.  Will  it  interest  the  average  reader  in  the  territory  in  which 
the  paper  has  its  chief  circulation? 

Most  large  papers  furnish  their  correspondents  in  the 
smaller  towns  instructions  as  to  the  manner  of  sending 
news,  the  hours  the  various  editions  go  to  press,  etc. 
Special  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  necessity  of  sending  all 
news  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  insure  its  being 
published  in  the  “mail  edition.”  This  edition,  generally 
the  first  to  leave  the  press,  is  sent  to  out-of-town  sub¬ 
scribers  and  contains  to  a  large  extent  the  news  of  greater 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


211 


general  interest  rather  than  local  interest.  Since,  in  many 
of  the  smaller  towns  it  is  often  impossible  to  find  per¬ 
sons  trained  in  gathering  news  for  metropolitan  papers, 
the  instructions  mentioned  may  outline  the  character  of 
the  news  desired  and  give  suggestions  as  to  the  manner 
of  judging  and  writing  it.  With  the  exception  of  the  matter 
of  judging  news,  these  suggestions  or  instructions  will 
include  nothing  that  a  reporter  should  not  know. 

Staff  Correspondent.  When  news  of  vast  importance 
is  uncovered  at  points  not  too  remote  from  the  city  in  which 
the  paper  is  published,  especially  in  the  small  towns  within 
150  to  200  miles,  a  staff  correspondent  is  sent  to  the  place. 
A  staff  correspondent  is  a  reporter,  trained  in  gathering  and 
writing  news  of  any  kind,  and  in  most  instances  is  employed 
on  the  city  editor’s  staff  when  not  working  on  assignments 
out  of  town. 

Until  the  staff  correspondent  reaches  the  place,  the 
regular  correspondent  will  be  given  special  instructions  by 
wire  and  his  stories  used.  He  will  be  expected  to  aid  the 
staff  correspondent  in  every  way  when  the  latter  arrives 
and  will  be  paid  for  his  services,  accordingly. 

The  staff  correspondent,  while  out  of  the  city,  works 
under  the  direction  of  the  telegraph  editor.  He  will  be 
expected  to  notify  his  office  by  wire  or  telephone  when  he 
reaches  the  scene,  keep  the  telegraph  editor  informed  of  his 
movements,  send  a  bulletin  outlining  the  news  he  has  found 
and  tell  what  time  he  expects  to  file  his  story  on  the  tele¬ 
graph  wire.  Since  the  staff  correspondent  is  a  trained  re¬ 
porter,  the  gathering  and  writing  of  the  news  is  left  much 
to  his  own  judgment,  yet  he  often  receives  instructions 
from  his  office  while  working  on  such  assignments. 

The  staff  correspondent  also  may  be  sent  in  advance  to 
cover  important  events  scheduled  to  take  place  at  an  out- 
of-town  point. 


212 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Telegraph  Editor.  The  telegraph  editor  is  in  charge 
of  the  department  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  telegraph  news 
— news  of  a  general  character  and  not  of  a  special  class — is 
handled.  He  is  responsible  to  the  managing  editor  for  this 
news,  just  as  the  city  editor  is  responsible  for  the  local 
news.  His  work  may  be  grouped  under  these  heads: 

1.  Ordering  news  and  directing  the  correspondents  in  the  work 
of  gathering  it. 

2.  Judging  news. 

3.  Directing  the  work  of  handling  news  (editing,  rewriting, 
writing  of  headlines,  etc.) 

The  telegraph  editor,  or  his  assistants,  reads  carefully  all 
telegraph  and  local  news  published  in  his  own  and  rival 
papers,  before  beginning  work  each  day.  By  this  reading 
he  becomes  familiar  with  the  news  that  is  being  developed 
over  the  country  generally  and  in  the  territory  near  the 
city;  he  learns  where  stories — developments  of  news  al¬ 
ready  published — may  be  expected  from  that  day ;  he  finds 
in  various  items  suggestions  for  further  news  or  informa¬ 
tion  ;  he  learns  where  he  can  procure  news  of  interest  to 
local  readers,  etc.  In  this  way  he  can  prepare  a  schedule 
of  news  that  he  can  expect  and  the  places  where  it  will  be 
developed,  sending  out  his  orders  for  stories  and  his  in¬ 
structions  to  correspondents  accordingly.  In  addition  the 
telegraph  editor  keeps  a  schedule  of  all  events  of  importance 
which  he  learns  about  in  advance.  By  consulting  this 
schedule  he  learns  possibly  of  news  that  can  be  expected 
that  day  from  the  news-gathering  associations,  or  stories 
that  will  be  sent  by  correspondents.  Where  such  an  event 
is  to  be  covered  by  a  correspondent,  instructions  may  be 
sent  to  him  by  the  telegraph  editor  in  advance. 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


213 


In  the  telegraph  editor’s  room  is  found  a  list  of  all  the 
places  in  which  the  paper  has  country  correspondents ;  the 
name  and  address  of  the  correspondent  in  each  place;  his 
telephone  number ;  name  of  the  paper  with  which  he  is  con¬ 
nected  (if  he  is  a  newspaper  man)  ;  the  hours  telegraph  and 
telephone  service  can  be  procured  and  other  data.  When  the 
correspondent  leaves  his  locality  temporarily,  he  is  required 
to  notify  the  telegraph  editor  in  advance,  also,  to  give 
the  name  of  some  person  who  will  supply  the  news  in  his 
absence.  In  ordering  stories  from  a  correspondent,  the 
telegraph  editor,  generally,  will  briefly  outline  just  what  is 
desired,  the  manner  of  writing  it,  and  always  designate  the 
length  of  the  story  wanted,  much  as  the  city  editor  gives 
assignments  to  the  reporters  on  his  staff. 

The  telegraph  editor  may  read  and  act  on  all  queries 
on  news  sent  in  by  the  correspondents  or  any  news  agencies 
desiring  to  sell  stories.  He  determines  whether  the  news 
outlined  in  the  query  is  likely  to  be  sent  by  the  press  as¬ 
sociation  serving  his  paper,  and,  if  so,  whether  he  will 
desire  a  special  story;  whether  the  story  is  of  enough  value 
to  warrant  his  buying  it,  and,  if  so,  what  length  of  a 
story  to  order. 

Although  he  often  receives  suggestions  from  the  manag¬ 
ing  editor  and  his  work  is  subject  to  the  latter’s  direction, 
the  judging  of  news  is  left  to  the  telegraph  editor.  To 
enable  him  to  do  his  work  successfully,  it  is  necessary  that, 
in  addition  to  his  ability  to  judge  news  in  itself,  the  tele¬ 
graph  editor  possess  much  general  knowledge  of  the  affairs 
of  the  world  at  large  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  geo¬ 
graphy. 

All  telegraph  copy  goes  to  the  telegraph  editor’s  desk. 
He  glances  through  it,  just  as  the  city  editor  does  the 
local  copy  turned  in  to  him.  He  notes  the  importance  of 


214 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


the  story,  designates  any  material  changes  to  be  made,  (re¬ 
writing,  changes  in  the  lead,  condensing,  enlarging,  etc.,) 
and  indicates  the  style  of  headlines.  The  stories  then  go 
to  the  copy  readers.  Should  the  telegraph  editor  find  in 
reading  the  copy,  however,  that  the  press  association  has 
sent  a  story  which  he  believes  is  too  brief  for  his  paper, 
he  will  retain  the  story  until  he  has  procured,  or  tried 
to  procure,  a  larger  and  more  comprehensive  story  from  a 
correspondent,  a  news  bureau  or  some  newspaper  in  the 
territory  in  which  the  news  developed.  Or,  he  may  send  the 
brief  story  to  the  printers  and  use  it  in  one  edition,  sub¬ 
stituting  the  more  detailed  story  in  later  editions.  Some¬ 
times,  too,  the  stories  of  a  correspondent  and  a  press  as¬ 
sociation  on  the  same  piece  of  news  are  combined  to  make 
a  more  comprehensive  story.  In  other  cases,  where  the 
news  consists  of  reports  or  rumors  that  cannot  be  verified, 
the  news  stories  of  a  correspondent  and  a  press  association 
will  be  published  separately  each  with  a  credit  line. 

In  glancing  at  the  copy  as  it  reaches  his  desk,  the  tele¬ 
graph  editor  may  find  that  a  correspondent  has  not  cover¬ 
ed  a  piece  of  news  properly.  Again  he  retains  the  story 
or  uses  it  in  one  edition,  meanwhile  wiring  the  correspon¬ 
dent  for  additional  facts.  When  he  finds  the  copy  contains 
news  of  vast  importance  uncovered  by  one  of  the  cor¬ 
respondents  or  by  the  press  association,  he  may  deem  it 
necessary  to  send  a  staff  correspondent. 

The  copy  readers  who  handle  telegraph  stories  edit  them 
and  write  headlines  the  same  as  those  who  handle  local 
stories.  In  some  newspaper  offices  the  two  forces  of  copy 
readers  are  combined  and  under  the  direction  of  a  news 
editor  or  a  head  copy  reader  they  handle  both  local  and 
telegraph  copy.  In  other  offices  they  are  separated,  each 
force  working  under  a  head  copy  reader. 


TELEGRAPH  NEWS 


215 


Because  many  of  the  correspondents  in  the  smaller  towns 
are  not  trained  in  metropolitan  journalism,  the  copy  readers, 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  work  of  editing  and  the  writing 
of  headlines,  will  find  much  re-writing  of  stories  to  do. 
It  will  fall  to  their  lot,  too,  to  “take”  stories  over  the  long 
distance  telephone.  Stories,  whether  from  correspondents 
or  press  associations,  may  be  cut  down  or  re-constructed, 
according  to  the  editor,  as  in  the  case  of  local  news,  and 
this  becomes  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  copy  readers.  Other 
telegraph  news  comes  in  bulletin  form  and  detailed  informa¬ 
tion  must  be  procured  from  the  newspaper’s  morgue.  This 
is  often  done  by  the  copy  reader,  although  a  writer  may 
be  employed  especially  for  the  work. 

All  telegraph  stories  are  not  published  in  every  edition  of 
the  paper.  The  telegraph  editor  knows  in  what  sections  of 
the  country  the  mail  edition  circulates,  for  instance,  and  he 
will  see  that  this  edition  contains  stories  that  are  of  par¬ 
ticular  interest  to  that  section.  The  various  city  editions 
may  circulate  in  other  sections  and  he  will  see  that  news 
of  interest  chiefly  in  those  sections  is  substituted  and 
published  in  the  respective  editions.  Important  news  that 
is  considered  of  world-wide  interest  or  of  interest  to  any¬ 
body,  anywhere,  will  be  printed  in  all  editions. 

The  news  received  by  the  large  papers  from  correspondents 
is  sent  over  telegraph  wires  which  enter  the  newspaper 
office.  A  few  of  these  may  be  leased  wires  of  some  length, 
but  most  of  them  are  merely  extensions  of  the  wires  of  the 
telegraph  companies  from  the  nearest  headquarters.  The 
instruments  and  operators  are  maintained  in  the  newspaper 
office  to  facilitate  the  handling  of  copy  and  quicken  the 
service.  The  press  associations  generally  have  their  own 
offioes  with  their  telegraph  wires  and  operators  and  from 


216 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


these  offices,  distribute  copy  to  the  papers  they  serve  in 
the  city. 

The  telegraph  editor  may  have  an  assistant  (or  assistants) 
who  will  assume  any  of  the  duties  of  the  position  that  may 
be  assigned  to  him. 


OTHER  NEWS  ORGANIZATION. 


Managing  Editor.  In  connection  with  the  gathering  and 
presentation  of  news  the  managing  editor  is  the  supreme 
authority.  His  is  a  task  of  general  supervision  and  di¬ 
rection.  Responsible  to  him  are  those  editors,  city,  tele¬ 
graph,  Sunday  section,  and  departmental,  to  whom  is  en¬ 
trusted  the  more  detailed  work  of  producing  the  news 
sections  of  the  paper.  To  him  in  final  appeal  go  questions 
of  general  policy,  problems  for  counsel,  questions  of  news 
campaigns  and  numberless  other  matters  of  similar  import. 
Executives  in  the  news  departments  are  responsible  to  him 
and  he  in  turn  is  responsible  to  owner  or  owners  of  his 
paper  for  the  news  presentation. 

Night  Editor.  On  the  morning  metropolitan  paper, 
the  organization  in  the  news  department  includes  a  night 
editor.  The  night  editor  acts  as  a  representative  of  the 
managing  editor,  assistant  or  night  managing  editor,  he 
might  be  called.  He  begins  his  duties  when  the  managing 
editor  has  left  his  office  after  a  day’s  work.  He  follows 
any  orders  that  may  have  been  left  to  him  by  the  managing 
editor,  assuming  the  responsibilities  of  the  latter’s  position 
until  the  last  edition  of  the  paper  has  gone  to  press.  His 
position  then  is  superior  in  rank  to  that  of  the  telegraph 
editor  or  city  editor.  To  him  is  left  the  general  super¬ 
vision  of  the  work  in  the  news  department — the  gathering, 
developing,  and  handling  of  all  stories  both  local  and  tele¬ 
graph.  He  g:ves  special  attention  to  the  afternoon  papers, 
searches  the  field  for  possibilities  for  news  and  calls  the 
attention  of  the  telegraph  editor  and  city  editor  to  stories 
that  he  desires  developed  or  handled  in  a  particular  way. 

217 


218 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


He  is  the  final  judge  of  what  shall  or  shall  not  be  printed 
and  all  questions  relating  to  news,  should  any  doubt  arise, 
go  to  him  for  final  decision.  Also  he  determines  the  size 
and  make-up  of  the  paper  and,  through  his  duties  as  an 
executive,  comes  in  contact  much  with  the  mechanical  de¬ 
partment. 

While  the  duties  of  the  night  editor,  in  respect  to  the 
news  department,  are  nominally  those  of  a  managing  edi¬ 
tor,  on  some  papers  he  is  accustomed  to  direct  more  in 
detail,  and  give  more  of  his  personal  attention  to  the  work 
of  gathering  and  handling  the  news,  thus  assuming,  in 
part  at  least,  the  duties  of  a  news  editor.  On  other  papers 
he  acts,  also  as  make-up  editor. 

News  Editor-  The  general  scheme  of  organization  in 
the  news  department  of  many  large  dailies  includes  the 
position  of  news  editor.  On  other  papers  the  duties  of 
such  a  position  are  assumed  by  the  managing  editor  or 
night  editor  and,  in  some  instances,  by  the  head  copy 
reader.  The  extent  of  his  duties,  in  any  case,  will  depend 
much  on  the  custom  of  the  individual  paper. 

While  the  news  editor  may  direct  somewhat  the  work 
of  gathering  and  developing  stories,  generally  his  duties 
have  to  do  chiefly  with  the  handling  of  the  news,  both 
local  and  telegraph,  taking  this  responsibility  from  the  tele¬ 
graph  and  city  editors,  who  confine  their  work  wholly  to 
the  gathering  of  stories.  He  scans  all  copy,  the  impor¬ 
tant  stories  at  least,  and  all  proofs  of  news  stories  go 
to  his  desk.  Also,  he  is  informed  of  all  news  of  impor¬ 
tance  being  developed  by  correspondents  or  reporters.  Thus 
he  is  able  to  judge  the  comparative  value  of  the  news 
gathered  by  the  paper  as  a  whole,  and  actively  direct  the 
work  of  copy  readers  in  handling  it.  As  the  work  of 
gathering  the  stories  progresses,  he  learns  from  time  to 


OTHER  NEWS  ORGANIZATION 


219 


time  how  much  space  is  still  available  and  takes  this  into 
consideration  in  giving  his  directions. 

Since  he  keeps  informed  of  all  the  news  that  reaches 
the  paper,  the  news  editor  is  able  to  judge  the  compara¬ 
tive  value  of  the  stories  for  another  purpose — that  of 
designating  the  position  of  all  the  news  stories  of  impor¬ 
tance  and  the  illustrations  or  cuts.  He  prepares  a  schedule 
or  “dummy”  showing  the  pages  and  the  positions  on  these 
pages  where  he  desires  the  stories.  Special  attention,  of 
course,  is  paid  to  page  1,  on  which  are  the  stories  of  great¬ 
est  importance.  The  “dummy”  is  given  to  the  makeup 
editor,  or  printers  in  charge  of  the  make-up  of  the  paper. 

The  news  editor  in  directing  the  work  of  handling  the 
news,  too,  sees  that  stories  of  interest  to  a  particular  terri¬ 
tory  are  published  in  the  edition  circulating  in  that  terri¬ 
tory  and  that  all  stories  of  unusual  interest  or  importance 
are  published  in  all  editions. 

Make-up  Editor.  Responsibility  for  the  dress,  the  physi¬ 
cal  appearance  of  the  paper,  that  is,  the  general  arrange¬ 
ment  of  the  cuts  and  stories,  rests  with  the  make-up  editor. 
His  work  is  done  in  the  composing  room.  There  he  per¬ 
sonally  directs  the  work  of  placing  in  the  forms  the  stories 
which  come  in  type,  and  the  cuts,  after  the  editors  and 
proof  readers  have  finished  with  them. 

The  make-up  editor  does  more  than  produce  printed 
pages  that  are  pleasing  to  the  eye.  He  must  possess  ability 
to  judge  news  as  the  other  editors,  for  the  arrangement 
of  all  news  matter  to  be  effective  will  be  based  on  the 
value  or  importance  of  the  individual  stories,  conforming 
at  the  same  time  to  physical  conditions,  such  as  space  or 
advertisements. 

The  “dummy”  sent  to  the  make-up  editor  by  the  news 
editor,  night  editor,  or  managing  editor,  may  show  in 


220 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


detail  the  make-up  desired  for  page  one  and  designate  on 
what  pages  other  stories  and  cuts  are  desired.  The  make¬ 
up  editor  will  be  guided  by  this  “dummy”  often  almost 
wholly  for  page  1,  and  as  far  as  possible  for  the  other 
pages,  filling  in  and  placing  all  other  stories  on  his  own 
judgment  and  responsibility.  He  Is  furnished  proofs  of  ail 
news  stories  and  thus  is  enabled  to  know  the  comparative 
value  of  each.  Each  large  paper  also  has  its  own  general 
styles  of  make-up  and  rules  conforming  to  this  style  must 
be  followed. 

The  make-up  editor’s  work  has  not  ended  when  the 
first  edition  has  gone  to  press.  In  the  various  editions 
issued  by  the  large  papers,  the  arrangement  of  the  news  mat¬ 
ter  may  be  entirely  different.  Fresh  news  may  supplant 
the  stale  or  news  of  less  importance ;  later  developments 
may  change  the  importance  of  a  story,  hence,  also,  its  po¬ 
sition  in  the  paper;  and  news  that  has  been  given  promi¬ 
nence  in  one  edition,  because  of  the  territory  in  which  that 
edition  goes,  may  be  cut  down  or  left  out  entirely  in  an¬ 
other.  Only  when  the  forms  for  the  last  edition  have 
been  made  up  has  the  make-up  editor’s  work  ended. 

Morgue.  “Morgue”  is  the  name  applied  in  most  news¬ 
paper  offices  to  a  reference  library,  arranged  and  equipped 
to  fill  the  particular  needs  of  a  newspaper.  To  the  large 
daily  paper,  it  is  considered  indispensable  for  furnishing 
the  news  comprehensively. 

The  morgue,  in  most  newspaper  offices,  is  maintained 
as  a  separate  department  with  a  librarian  in  charge,  and 
the  same  general  methods  in  cataloging  and  indexing  used 
in  any  library  are  followed.  To  show  something  of  the 
character  of  the  data  collected,  the  equipment  of  the  morgue 
of  an  average  metropolitan  paper  is  given  here: 


OTHER  NEWS  ORGANIZATION 


221 


1.  Reference  works  of  all  kinds  (including,  especially,  biograph¬ 
ical,  historical  and  geographical  data.) 

2.  Complete  files  of  the  paper.  (All  matter  of  importance  in 
each  issue  is  indexed.) 

3.  Clippings  from  newspapers  and  periodicals  bearing  on  topics, 
places,  persons,  or  events  of  importance,  both  local  and  of 
the  world  at  large.  (The  clippings  bearing  on  the  same  subject 
are  grouped  and  filed  according  to  the  system  used.) 

4.  Pictures  and  cuts  of  scenes,  buildings,  persons,  etc.,  both  local 
and  of  the  world  at  large.  (These  are  filed  and  catalogued,  ready 
for  instant  use.) 

A  newspaper  morgue  may  contain  much  more,  but  the 
foregoing  are  its  distinctive  features.  Its  object,  is  to  fur¬ 
nish  quickly  information  on  every  conceivable  subject,  and 
pictures. 

The  morgue  is  relied  upon  every  day  to  furnish  infor¬ 
mation  and  illustrations  for  many  news  stories  in  the  large 
newspaper  office.  It  is  an  aid  in  the  matter  of  writing 
stories  of  local  interest  as  well  as  stories  containing  tele¬ 
graph  news.  Should  the  mayor  of  a  city,  or  any  other 
person  of  prominence  be  killed,  the  papers  of  that  city 
could,  within  a  few  minutes  prepare  a  complete  biograph¬ 
ical  sketch  of  his  life  from  the  morgue  (if  a  sketch  already 
prepared  is  not  on  file)  and  print  it,  as  well  as  pictures, 
with  the  story  of  the  death.  In  the  case  of  news  of  a  widely- 
known  person,  news-gathering  associations  often  furnish 
brief  bulletins  only  and  it  rests  on  the  papers  to  supply, 
from  their  morgues,  information  concerning  the  person. 
The  morgue,  too,  furnishes  descriptions  and  pictures  of 
places  where  the  news  of  importance  has  developed ;  infor¬ 
mation  of  former  events  and  the  persons  involved,  in  which 
there  have  been  new  developments,  and  similar  data.  The 
better  equipped  morgue  a  newspaper  has,  the  sooner  the 
news  can  be  prepared  for  publication  and  the  more  compre¬ 
hensive  are  the  stories  'when  published. 


PART  V.  NEWS  WRITING. 


I.  Writing  for  Newspapers. 

II.  Writing  the  Story. 

III.  What  to  Avoid. 

IV.  Use  of  Words. 


223 


' 


I.  WRITING  FOR  NEWSPAPERS. 


Writing  for  newspapers  requires  that  certain  practices 
of  a  technical  nature  be  observed.  As  in  any  other  writing, 
certain  elementary  requirements  are  essential. 

Preparation  of  Copy.  Paper  for  the  writing  of  stories 
(copy  paper)  is  furnished  to  reporters.  Each  newspaper 
maintains  a  supply  of  uniform  size,  color,  and  material, 
THs  uniformity  enables  copy  to  be  handled  more  quickly 
ai  d  more  easily.  This  paper  is  unruled  and  the  sheets  should 
never  be  fastened  together.  While  there  are  many  mark¬ 
ings  used  by  editors  and  copy  readers  for  the  guidance  of 
printers,  there  are  general  rules  governing  the  preparation 
of  copy.  Such  rules  are  given  in  another  chapter. 

Use  of  Typewriters.  So  general  is  the  use  now  of  type¬ 
writers  in  newspaper  offices,  that  training  in  writing  on  the 
machines  has  become  necessary  for  the  reporter.  Only  in 
exceptional  cases  do  newspapers  accept  copy  that  is  not 
typewritten. 

Typewritten  copy  does  away  with  the  many  inaccuracies 
and  errors  due  to  illegible  handwriting.  It  is  edited  more 
easily  and  it  facilitates  the  work  of  the  printers  in  setting 
stories  into  type.  Also  much  time  is  gained  by  the  reporter, 
himself,  in  typewriting,  for  if  he  is  fairly  expert  in  the 
use  of  the  machine,  he  can  produce  copy  much  more  quickly. 

English.  A  thorough — not  fair— knowledge  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  language,  is  absolutely  necessary  for  all  forms  of 
writing.  Writing  for  newspapers  is  not  an  exception. 
Such  an  education  is  considered  preparatory,  a  preliminary 
step  for  the  one  who  is  to  take  up  journalism  as  a  pro¬ 
fession.  Copy  readers  and  editors,  it  is  true,  correct  errors 

225 


15 


226 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


in  grammar  and  improve  the  English  used,  but  they  are 
not  expected  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  teachers.  Every  cor¬ 
rection  they  make  reflects  on  the  ability  of  the  reporter. 
Repeated  mistakes  of  a  like  nature  discloses  a  reporter’s 
incompetency.  A  perfect  understanding  of  the  English  lan¬ 
guage  gives  the  writer  his  essential  power — the  power  of 
expression. 

Every  reporter  should  write  on  the  assumption  that  his 
copy  is  ready  for  the  printer  when  it  leaves  his  hands.  As 
far  as  possible  he  should  lose  sight  of  copy  readers  and 
editors.  To  do  this  his  copy  should  be  perfect  as  to  capital¬ 
ization,  spelling,  punctuation,  paragraphing,  and  the  use  of 
quotation  marks.  It  is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  because 
much  of  the  writing  for  newspapers  is  done  hastily  these 
points  may  be  slighted.  The  copy  of  the  reporter,  although 
often  his  time  for  writing  is  reckoned  in  minutes,  must  be 
as  “clean”  and  carefully  constructed  as  the  manuscript  of 
the  author  who  has  had  unlimited  time. 

Official  Titles,  Names.  Attention  has  been  called  to 
the  necessity  of  guarding  against  inaccuracies  in  gathering 
facts.  The  same  carefulness  is  necessary  in  writing.  So 
great  is  the  tendency  of  the  beginner  to  make  errors  in  offi¬ 
cial  titles  and  names  that  a  warning  against  this  particular 
form  of  carelessness  is  warranted.  All  firms,  companies, 
etc.,  are  incorporated  under  certain  titles  or  company  names. 
The  official  title  should  be  used  always  when  the  reporter 
refers  to  the  firm  or  company  in  his  writing. 

Certain  persons  have  the  right  to  certain  titles,  such 
as  doctor,  colonel,  professor,  judge,  etc.  Often  these  titles 
are  used  too  freely  or  erroneously  by  reporters.  The  writer 
should  be  careful  to  learn  whether  or  not  a  person  has  a 
right  to  the  title  before  using  it,  and  whether  the  title  is 


WRITING  FOR  NEWSPAPERS 


227 


not  one  that  has  been  awarded  gratuitously  by  friends — - 
a  nickname. 

The  practice,  too,  of  using  a  person’s  profession  or  trade 
as  a  title  is  condemned.  The  expression  “Lawyer  Jones,” 
is  no  better  than  “Bricklayer  Smith,”  yet  no  writer  would 
think  of  using  the  latter.  The  correct  form  would  be  “B.  B. 
Jones,  lawyer.” 

Misspelling  of  proper  names,  especially  the  names  of 
persons,  is  a  common  error  in  newspaper  writing.  Where 
there  is  any  doubt  whatever,  the  reporter  should  ask  for 
the  correct  spelling  when  he  is  procuring  facts  for  his 
story.  Smith,  for  instance,  may  spell  his  name  “Smythe.” 


n.  WRITING  THE  NEWS  STORY. 


One  aim  of  every  newspaper,  it  can  be  safely  said,  is 
to  incorporate  its  news  in  concise,  interesting,  smooth  read¬ 
ing  stories — stories  that  tell  effectively,  and  to  the  point, 
facts,  conditions,  and  events  as  the  reporter  has  learned 
them  or  has  seen  them.  There  is  no  inflexible  style,  no 
iron-clad  rules  that  govern  any  individual  story  any  more 
than  there  are  rules  for  gathering  individual  stories.  How¬ 
ever,  all  writing  of  news  may,  in  a  general  way,  be  sum¬ 
med  up  under  what  is  often  termed  “newspaper  style,”  in  op¬ 
position  to  the  fiction  or  magazine  style.  As  an  illustra¬ 
tion  of  the  difference,  the  climax  (important,  startling  or 
unusual  features)  is  not  hidden  in  the  body  of  the  story 
or  reserved  for  the  end,  and  events  or  facts  do  not  neces¬ 
sarily  follow  in  chronological  order,  but  in  their  order 
of  importance  as  news  features.  In  this  respect,  writing 
a  news  story  is  unlike  the  usual  style  of  writing.  There 
may  be  a  resemblance  in  articles  on  timely  subjects  in  the 
magazines  of  today  which  are  journalistic  in  character. 
This  is  the  result  more  of  the  influence  of  what  has  been 
referred  to  as  “newspaper  style”  rather  than  a  leaning  to¬ 
ward  magazine  style. 

A  news  story  of  any  length  or  importance,  if  it  is  prop¬ 
erly  written,  may  be  divided  thus : 

(1.)  Lead. 

(2.)  Body  of  story. 

Lead.  The  lead  (introduction)  to  a  news  story  fre¬ 
quently  proves  a  stumbling  block  to  the  beginner.  Often, 
also,  it  puzzles  and  tests  the  qualities  and  training  of  the 

228 


WRITING  THE  NEWS  STORY 


229 


experienced  writers.  What  the  lead  shall  contain  and  how 
it  shall  be  written  must  be  determined  by  the  writer  him¬ 
self  in  accordance  with  the  piece  of  news  he  has  obtained. 
The  theory  advanced  by  some  that  every  lead  should  an¬ 
swer  the  questions,  who?  why?  what?  where?  and  when?  or 
that  the  whole  story  should  be  told  briefly  and  in  a  gen¬ 
eral  way  in  the  first  paragraph  or  two,  is  not  followed  al¬ 
ways.  Such  a  lead,  while  it  might  be  well  for  one  story, 
might  be  wholly  ineffective  in  another.  Any  attempt  to 
give  specific  rules  for  the  writing  of  a  lead,  then,  would 
be  as  futile  as  an  attempt  to  dictate  a  style  that  would  fit 
the  writing  of  all  news  stories. 

How  shall  I  begin?  What  shall  I  make  the  lead?  This 
much  may  be  said:  To  determine  the  question  the  writer 
must  necessarily  have  a  knowledge  of  news  features.  An 
ability  to  recognize  the  relative  importance  of  the  news 
facts  or  features  obtained  is  as  essential  in  writing  as  a 
“nose  for  news”  is  in  gathering  news.  Before  writing  a 
story,  analyze  all  matter  you  have  at  hand  for  that  story. 
Consider  the  facts  in  their  relation  to  a  news  story  and 
consider  them  from  every  possible  angle.  The  fact  or 
facts  (features  in  the  newspaper  term)  of  the  greatest 
importance  as  news — namely,  of  the  greatest  general  in¬ 
terest — should  be  the  material  for  the  lead.  Such  fact, 
or  facts,  serve  as  a  foundation  for  the  building  of  the 
story.  The  body  of  the  story  may  consist  of  news  features 
of  secondary  importance,  giving  details  without  repetition. 

Originality.  Sameness,  or  monotonous  tone  on  news- 
paper  pages  is  what  all  editors  try  to  avoid.  Originality 
in  the  treatment  of  stories,  expression  and  style  should  be 
the  aim  of  every  writer  for  newspapers.  It  will  win  rec¬ 
ognition  more  quickly,  perhaps,  than  any  other  single  qual¬ 
ification  in  writing.  Especially  is  this  true  in  reference 


230 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


to  the  writing  of  leads.  That  reporter  who  succeeds  in 
giving  the  lead  to  a  story  an  original  turn,  who  presents 
the  news  features  in  a  forceful,  attractive  manner,  but  in 
a  manner  out  of  the  ordinary,  has  achieved  something 
worth  while.  It  may  be  only  a  word,  an  expression,  or  a 
single  sentence  employed  in  the  manner  of  expression,  or 
it  may  be  .the  interpretation  of  a  news  feature  or  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  an  unique  news  feature.  No  matter  in  what 
way  the  originality  is  apparent,  it  serves  always  to  attract 
and  please  the  reader. 

The  writer  should  be  careful  to  avoid  using  the  same 
style  of  writing  in  beginning  his  stories.  Often  too  many 
stories  begin  with  proper  names.  In  some  cases  it  is  the 
logical  way,  but  for  the  sake  of  variance,  it  is  worth  noting 
that  it  can  frequently  be  avoided.  The  practice  of  be¬ 
ginning  interviews  with  a  direct  quotation  it  one  that  is 
often  abused.  Such  a  beginning  is  good  only  when  the 
quotation  contains  something  of  striking  importance  and 
necessary  when  it  cannot  be  forcibly  expressed  in  any  other 
manner.  The  foregoing,  however,  are  only  two  examples 
of  many  that  tend  to  lend  a  sameness  to  newspaper  stories. 

Simplicity.  For  newspaper  writing  the  short,  simple 
sentences  are  more  effective.  Simplicity  in  grammatical  con¬ 
struction  and  simplicity  in  style  best  serve  the  purpose. 
Long,  involved  sentences  are  never  necessary,  while  the 
short,  crisp  sentences  give  that  desired  quality — terseness. 
In  a  like  manner  the  use  of  the  simple,  common  words, 
where  such  words  will  express  the  exact  meaning  desired, 
are  to  be  preferred. 

Clearness-  Before  attempting  to  write  any  news  story, 
it  is  necessary  for  the  writer  to  have  his  facts  clearly  in 
mind.  If  he  has  not,  then  a  hazy,  unsatisfactory  story 
probably  will  be  the  result.  Ability  to  express  oneself 


WRITING  THE  NEWS  STORY 


231 


clearly  is  essential  to  all  manner  of  writing.  In  newspaper 
writing  every  sentence  should  be  clear  and  to  the  point. 
Disregarding  any  chance  for  inaccuracy,  there  can  be  no 
excuse  for  the  reader  misunderstanding  or  being  in  doubt, 
either  through  the  writer’s  inability  to  know  his  subject 
or  lack  of  power  to  express  himself  clearly.  Clearness  in¬ 
cludes,  also,  the  correct  use  of  words  and  terms. 

Naturalness.  Any  attempt  *to  strain  for  effect  in  writing 
will  prove  fatal.  Any  style  or  manner  of  treatment  of 
stories  that  is  acquired  by  force  represents  so  much  energy 
wasted.  Naturalness  and  simplicity  probably  are  the  most 
powerful  factors  in  expression.  A  fact  stated  simply  and 
naturally  is  stronger  and  more  effective  than  any  elaborate 
combination  of  words  or  phrases.  If  more  reporters  would 
“write  as  they  talk,”  many  newspapers  would  be  brighter, 
better,  and  more  widely  read,  providing,  of  course,  the 
reporter’s  use  of  the  English  language  in  conversation  is 
correct,  as  it  should  be. 

“How  shall  I  write  it?”  is  a  question  often  put  to  the 
city  editors  by  reporters.  On  one  of  the  leading,  well- 
edited  papers  of  this  country  the  city  editor’s  reply  often 
is  this : 

“Write  it  just  as  you  told  it  to  me.” 

Action  in  Writing-  To  do  justice  to  a  news  story  the 
reporter  should,  whenever  possible,  write  while  the  facts 
are  fresh  in  his  mind ;  while  he  is  in  the  mood  or  is  im¬ 
bued  with  the  spirit  of  the  story.  With  the  events,  scenes, 
etc.,  stale  in  his  mind,  it  is  possible  that  his  story  will  be 
mechanical  and  his  writing  will  lack  action  or  breeziness. 
The  dry,  monotonous  accounts,  accounts  which  lack  any 
element  of  spirit  or  forcefulness,  go  to  make  up  an  inferior 
grade  of  writing. 


232 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


“A  good  story,  if  it  had  been  properly  handled”— that 
comment  heard  almost  daily  in  every  newspaper  office  is 
due  in  most  cases  to  a  lack  of  spirit  in  writing,  a  lack  of 
action  or  “swing”  to  the  story. 

Compression.  The  primary  object  of  every  newspaper 
reader  is  to  get  the  news,  just  as  the  aim  of  every  news¬ 
paper  is  to  furnish  the  news— and  all  of  it.  A  newspaper, 
at  least  that  part  which  has  to  do  with  news,  is  not  read 
for  amusement  and  seldom  at  leisure.  Necessarily,  then, 
the  writing  of  news  stories  must  conform  to  the  newspaper’s 
particular  aim.  Once  the  writer  has  sifted  out  those  facts 
of  sufficient  importance  to  give  to  the  readers,  he  must 
compress  them  into  as  little  space  as  possible.  These 
facts  must  be  given  briefly  and  tersely.  The  rambling 
space-filling  story,  the  story  with  a  superfluity  of  words 
or  phraseological  expressions  is  not  suitable  for  a  news¬ 
paper.  Make  every  sentence  tell  something,  and  at  the 
same  time  make  it  concise  and  clear. 

Condensing  in  writing  applies  in  general  to  the  style  of 
expression,  but  also  to  the  use  of  words  and  phrases. 
Where  one  word  will  express  the  meaning  clearly,  use 
that  one  word  instead  of  three  or  four. 

Examples : 

To  or  for — for  the  purpose  of. 

Escaped — made  his  escape. 

Burned — destroyed  by  fire. 

Appeared — made  his  appearance. 

About — in  the  neighborhood  of. 

Feel — experience  a  sensation. 

In  a  similar  way  condensation  may  be  effected  by  using 
the  short,  simple  word  for  a  longer  equivalent. 

Examples : 

Talk — converse. 


WRITING  THE  NEWS  STOR\ 


233 


Show — demonstrate. 

Pay — remunerate. 

Live — reside. 

Condensing  in  writing  does  not  mean  that  any  facts 
worthy  of  noting  are  to  be  eliminated.  Physical  conditions 
surrounding  the  printing  may  make  this  necessary  some¬ 
times,  but  the  matter  of  deciding  what  facts  shall  or  shall 
not  be  written  rests  with  the  writer's  ability  to  judge  news. 

It  may  be  well  to  note  here  that  condensing  of  news 
is  necessary  also  because  newspapers,  without  exception 
almost,  have  at  their  command  more  news  than  they  can 
print.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  brief,  concise  stories  will 
allow  the  printing  of  more  news,  news  that  otherwise  would 
be  crowded  out. 

Use  of  Direct  Discourse.  In  expressing  the  thoughts 
or  sayings  of  others,  the  writer  often  may  make  his  story 
more  effective  by  using  direct  discourse.  Too  much  care, 
however,  cannot  be  exercised  when  this  is  done.  While 
some  editors  contend  that  quotations,  if  they  express  the 
thought  and  sense  correctly,  need  not  be  verbatim,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  there  should  be  little  latitude.  The  speak¬ 
er's  own  words  should  be  used  wherever  possible  and 
often,  if  the  reader  is  to  acquire  the  exact  thought  and 
learn  something  of  the  manner  or  character  of  the  speaker, 
they  must  be  given. 

A  single  or  a  brief  quotation,  although  it  may  be  all 
that  is  of  importance  as  news,  should  not  be  used  alone 
in  a  story,  in  speeches  of  length  or  where  the  speaker  has 
given  an  interview  or  statement  of  length.  The  speaker 
in  such  an  instance  is  done  an  injustice.  The  quotation 
should  at  least  be  supplemented  by  brief  information  on  the 
statement  or  speech  and  other  thoughts  expressed,  although 
they  may  have  no  direct  connection  with  that  part  quoted. 


III.  WHAT  TO  AVOID. 


Editorial  Comment.  In  addition  to  giving  facts,  it  is 
often  the  reporter’s  duty  to  interpret  these  facts.  In  such 
cases  care  must  be  taken  to  distinguish  between  interpre¬ 
tation  and  editorial  comment.  The  right  of  forming  per¬ 
sonal  opinions,  giving  decisions  and  judgments  on  news 
events  is  not  for  the  news-gatherer  and  reporter,  but  is 
reserved  for  another  department  of  the  newspaper,  in  case 
the  paper  desires  to  make  any  such  comment.  The  editorial 
“we”,  so  often  used  by  beginners,  must  be  eliminated  from 

his  lexicon.  It  is  for  use  onlv  in  the  editorial  columns  of 

«/ 

the  paper.  Anything  that  gives  the  writer’s  personal  opinion 
should  not  be  written.  A  rule  that  will  apply  in  nearly 
all  cases  is:  Write  the  facts  and  allow  the  readers  to 
form  their  own  opinions. 

The  effect  of  a  news  event  on  those  who  witnessed  it, 
or  on  those  concerned ;  or  a  forecast  of  the  general  effect 
of  a  news  event  cannot  be  classified  as  comment.  It  more 
properly  comes  under  the  head  of  interpretation,  especially 
if  the  writer’s  deductions  are  logical,  founded  on  facts 
and  free  of  individual  opinion.  The  writing  of  the  opin¬ 
ions  of  others,  of  course,  is  a  part  of  the  reporter’s  work 
that  is  classed  as  interviewing. 

Personality  of  the  Writer-  Wherever  possible  the 
writer  should  exclude  all  reference  to  himself.  The  per¬ 
sonal  pronoun  “I”  is  used  only  in  those  rare  instances 
where  the  writer  or  reporter  is  allowed  to  sign  his  story. 
The  readers  are  not  interested  in  the  reporter — what  he 
said,  how  he  obtained  the  story,  etc.  Their  interest  is  cen¬ 
tered  in  the  news  itself.  There  may  be  occasions  when  the 

234 


WHAT  TO  AVOID 


235 


reporter,  himself,  is  involved  in  the  news,  or  his  manner 
of  getting  it  is  worthy  of  noting,  but  they  are  rare.  Even 
where  the  reporter  records  in  his  story  questions  asked 
by  himself,  his  own  personality  need  not  become  a  factor 
in  the  news  story  which  results. 

Repetition.  A  statement  of  facts  should  never  be  re¬ 
peated  in  a  news  story.  In  some  instances  where  the  im¬ 
portant  features  are  summed  up  and  treated  generally  in 
the  lead,  this  may  at  first  appear  difficult.  The  details  may 
be  given,  however,  without  repetition.  Care  should  be 
taken  not  to  repeat  the  same  word  or  expressions  in  a  sen¬ 
tence  and  not  to  use  them  too  often  in  the  same  paragraph 
or  story. 

A  story  that  contains  repetitions  of  facts,  words  or  phrases 
is  not  well  written. 

“Coloring”  of  Facts.  Fairness  and  impartiality  enter  into 
the  writing  of  a  news  story.  Where  there  is  more  than 
one  point  of  view,  all  should  be  given.  Where  the  story 
includes  a  charge  or  accusation  of  any  kind,  it  should  include, 
also,  a  defense,  if  one'  is  available.  A  news  story  is  un¬ 
satisfactory  if  not  complete  and  it  cannot  be  complete  if  only 
one  point  of  view  is  given. 

A  tendency  or  temptation,  it  may  be  called,  often  exists 
to  employ  imagination  or  inflate  the  facts,  with  a  definite 
purpose  in  mind.  Perhaps  the  purpose  is  merely  to  enhance 
the  value  of  the  story  with  a  view  to  winning  greater 
recognition  for  work.  No  matter  how  harmless,  how 
trivial  this  may  be,  it  is  a  dishonorable  practice  and  is  so 
considered  by  all  newspapers.  It  is  a  temptation  constant¬ 
ly  presented  and  must  be  carefully  guarded  against. 

Extravagant  Phrases.  Meaningless,  extravagant  words 
and  phrases  are  usually  found  in  “fine  writing,”  a  style  of 
writing  not  suited  for  news  stories.  Do  not  attempt  flowery 


236 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


language  or  flowery  methods  of  expression.  It  is  far  less 
effective  than  the  simple,  matter-of-fact  writing.  This 
extravagance  may  be  avoided  chiefly  by  moderation  in  the 
use  of  adjectives,  figures  of  speech  and  comparisons. 

Adjectives.  Before  using  an  adjective  consider  whether 
or  not  it  adds  to  the  effectiveness  of  your  writing ;  whether 
or  not  it  is  needed ;  whether  or  not  it  expresses  your  mean¬ 
ing.  Here  are  examples  of  adjectives  which  are  meaningless 
because  they  are  unnecessary  or  trite : 

Sad  news  of  his  death — news  of  death  is  always  sad  news. 

Prominent  farmer — meaningless,  through  extravagant  or  indis¬ 
criminate  use. 

Beautiful  woman — all  women  are  supposed  to  be  beautiful. 

Dull,  sickening  thud — trite;  find  some  other  descriptive  expres¬ 
sion. 

Figures  of  Speech.  Figures  of  speech  should  be  used 
only  when  the  writer  is  sure  they  express  clearly  and  simply 
the  desired  meaning.  Comparisons,  to  be  effective,  should 
be  original  and,  above  all,  truthful. 

Examples : 

Largest  audience  ever  assembled — conventional;  how  often  is 
it  true? 

Hardest  fought  game  ever  seen — too  often  untrue. 

White  mantle  of  snow — time-worn. 

Trite  Expressions.  Since  originality  should  enter  into 
every  phase  of  writing  for  newspapers,  it  is  necessary  to 
avoid  the  use  of  all  trite  expressions.  Mottoes,  proverbs, 
sayings  and  expressions  that  are  time-worn,  are  not  pleasing 
to  the  readers.  For  a  time  after  each  came  into  use.  perhaps, 
it  was  effective,  but  the  writer  must  know  there  is  a 
limit  to  the  readers’  endurance.  Readers  like  variety,  hence 
the  need  of  originality  in  expression.  A  burglar,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  need  not  always  “prowl” ;  a  working  man  is  not 


WHAT  TO  AVOID 


237 


necessarily  a  “horny  handed  son  of  toil” ;  steamships  may 
not  be  “ocean  greyhounds”;  flames  do  other  things  beside 
“lick”  and  “leap”  and  reports  may  spread  in  some  manner 
other  than  “like  wild  fire.” 

It  has  been  charged  by  some  that  the  average  newspaper 
is  not  progressive ;  that  it  still  clings  to  the  old,  stereotyped 
words  and  expressions.  Unfortunately,  this  is  true  in 
part.  Some  newspapers  (the  unprogressive)  still  permit  the 
use  of  such  expressions  as  these : 

Daring  robber;  among  those  present;  brilliant  speaker; 
atrocious  crime ;  rumor  is  rife ;  Cupid’s  arrows ;  large  and 
enthusiastic ;  briny  deep ;  wee  stria’  hours  ;  angry  waters  ;  well 
known ;  great  excitement ;  greatest  sensation ;  admiring 
friends ;  knight  of  the  grip ;  floral  offering ;  well  dressed 
stranger;  innocent  bystander;  like  a  mill  race;  etc. 

But  the  well-edited  newspapers  have  barred  expressions 
such  as  the  foregoing  and  more  and  more  newspapers  are 
becoming  of  the  progressive  type.  In  the  future  the  suc¬ 
cessful  writer  must  be  the  one  who  trains  himself  to  employ 
originality  and  discard  those  things  which  have  an  element 
of  triteness. 

Generalities.  A  beginner  in  newspaper  writing  often 
makes  indefinite  statements,  a  mistake  that  tends  to 
characterize  his  work  as  incomplete,  or  unsatisfactory  to 
the  reader.  “Many,”  “few,”  “a  number  of,”  “several” 
and  similar  expressions  should  be  used  sparingly. 

The  necessity  for  definite  statements  applies  not  only  to 
number,  size,  location,  etc.,  but  to  all  matters  touched  upon 
in  news  stories. 


IV.  USE  OF  WORDS. 


Essential  to  effective  writing  is  a  knowledge  of  words. 
Aside  from  pure  diction,  this  will  insure  for  the  reporter 
at  least  these  qualities  of  expression  in  his  story : 

1.  Clearness. 

2.  Accuracy. 

3.  Originality. 

Knowledge  of  words  means  more  than  mere  familiarity 
with  the  meaning  of  a  large  number  of  words.  It  involves 
an  ability  to  use  the  right  zvord  in  the  right  place,  or  ability 
to  use  the  word  which  will  express  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  thought  to  be  expressed.  It  includes  also  a  knowledge 
of  the  individual  shade  of  meaning  and  the  correct  usage. 
With  such  a  knowledge,  the  writer  should  still  remember 
that  in  choosing,  the  short,  simple  words  are  to  be  preferred, 
particularly  in  writing  for  a  newspaper. 

In  discussing  a  way  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  words, 
J.  Berg  Esenwein  notes  these  three  points : 

1.  Gather  words  from  stories  of  effective  writers.  When  you 

see  an  unfamiliar  word  jot  it  down,  look  it  up  and  master  it.  I 
have  in  mind  a  writer  and  speaker  of  superior  attainments  who 
acquired  his  vocabulary  by  noting  all  new  words  he  heard  or  read. 
*  *  *  Soon  his  vocabulary  became  large  and  exact. 

2.  Form  the  dictionary  habit.  Do  not  be  content  with  your 

general  knowledge  of  a  word.  Press  your  inquiry  until  you  have 
grasped  its  individual  shade  and  usage.  Fluency  may  become 
despicable,  but  accuracy  never.  The  dictionary  contains  the 
crystallized  usage  of  intellectual  giants.  *  *  * 

3.  Seek  diligently  for  the  right  word.  This  involves  a  careful 
study  of  synonyms  and  antonyms.  *  *  *  The  same  brilliant 

238 


USE  OF  WORDS 


239 


Frenchman  (Flaubert)  sent  this  sound  advice  to  Guy  de  Maupas¬ 
sant:  “Whatever  may  be  the  thing  which  one  wishes  to  say,  there 
is  but  one  word  for  expressing  it,  only  one  verb  to  animate  it,  onlv 
one  adjective  to  qualify  it.  It  is  essential  to  search  for  this  word, 
for  this  verb,  for  this  adjective,  until  they  are  discovered,  and  to 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  else.” 

To  illustrate  individual  shades  in  meaning  of  words 
in  common  use  in  newspaper  writing,  a  few  examples  are 
given  here : 

Haste,  hurry.  Haste  implies  action  with  speed  or  eagerness; 
hurry  implies  haste  with  confusion. 

Genius,  talent.  Genius  is  the  result  of  nature;  talent  is  that 
acquired  by  mental  training. 

Leave,  depart.  Leave  requires  an  object;  Jones  left  the  city  for 
the  east;  Jones  departed  for  the  east. 

Home,  house.  Home  conveys  a  deeper  meaning;  that  of  the 
life  within;  house  should  be  used  when  the  writer  has  in  mind  the 
building  only. 

Believe,  think.  Believe  denotes  result  of  ponderance  or  consider¬ 
ation;.  think  implies  a  conclusion  without  either. 

Since  there  is  a  tendency  toward  sameness  in  the  character 
of  the  news  printed  from  day  to  day,  the  same  words  are 
employed  by  the  newspaper  writers.  The  following  list, 
while  incomplete,  will  serve  as  examples  of  words  com¬ 
monly  misused  by  reporters : 

Loan — noun  only;  the  verb  is  lend. 

Over — incorrectly  used  for  more  than  (referring  to  number.) 

Less — incorrectly  used  for  fewer  than  (referring  to  number.) 

Accused — not  a  noun. 

Occur — things  occur  by  accident. 

Take  place — things  take  place  by  design. 

Secure — incorrectly  used  for  obtain  or  procure. 

Per — to  be  used  before  Latin  words  only;  write  “ten  cents  a 
yard,”  not  “ten  cents  per  yard.” 


240 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Grow — incorrectly  used  for  become;  e.  g.  “he  grew  ill.” 

People — often  incorrectly  used  for  persons. 

Suspicion — noun  only. 

Balance — used  improperly  for  rest. 

Burglarize — not  a  good  word. 

Alleged — used  incorrectly  for  say  or  assert;  law  term  to  be  used 
only  in  cases  of  formal  charges. 

Donate — used  incorrectly  for  give. 

Suicide — it  is  not  a  verb. 

Past — write  last  week,  not  past  week. 

Commence — not  a  good  word;  use  begin. 

Dirt — often  incorrectly  used  for  earth. 

Curious — incorrectly  used  for  odd. 

Civil  Service — should  be  followed  by  word  reform,  when  that 
is  meant. 

Alternative — another  alternative  ot:  two  alternatives  impossible: 
means,  choice  of  two  things. 

Divine — not  a  noun. 

Groom — incorrectly  used  for  bridegroom. 

Claim — should  not  be  used  for  say  or  assert. 

Party,  parties — improperly  used  in  referring  to  a  person,  or 
persons. 

Locate — incorrectly  used  for  find. 

Awarded — Write:  A  prize  was  awarded  to  Smith;  not — Smith 
was  awarded  a  prize. 

Presented — Write:  A  watch  was  presented  to  Smith;  not — Smith 
was  presented  with  a  watch. 

Given — Write:  A  dinner  was  given  to  Smith;  not — Smith  was 
given  a  dinner. 

During — correct  only  when  it  conveys  the  idea  of  continuity. 

As  though — incorrectly  used  for  as  if. 

Render — often  improperly  used  for  sing,  recite,  or  play. 

But — incorrectly  used  for  only. 

Execution — improperly  used  for  execution  of  the  death  sentence. 
Graduated — Write:  Smith  was  graduated ;  not — Smith  graduated. 
None  were — None  is  followed  by  singular  verb. 


USE  OF  WORDS 


241 


The  following  are  barred  generally  by  the  well  edited 
newspapers,  for  various  reasons : 

Gentleman — use  man. 

Lady — use  woman. 

Honorable  (Hon.) — a  title  laid  aside  except  in  Great  Britain 
because  of  indiscriminate  use. 

Awful — rarely  conveys  meaning  intended. 

Dress  suit — use  evening  clothes. 

En  route,  etc. — sample  of  foreign  expressions,  used  when  English 
will  express  the  meaning  clearly;  use  on  the  way. 

Xmas — use  Christmas. 

Deceased — use  name  of  dead  person. 

Corpse — use  body. 

Interment — use  burial. 

Shipped — use  sent  when  speaking  of  body. 

Limbs — use  legs. 

Elegant — overworked. 

Nice — overworked. 

Female — use  woman. 

Poetess,  authoress — use  poet,  author. 

Better  half — trite;  use  wife. 

Fair  sex — trite  use  women. 

Hop — use  dance. 

Casket — coffin  is  better  word. 


16 


PART  VI.  A  STYLE  BOOK. 


243 


STYLE  BOOK. 


For  the  guidance  of  those  who  arc  learning  the  technique 
of  news  writing  in  the  School  of  Journalism  of  the  Univer¬ 
sity  of  Missouri,  there  has  been  compiled  by  the  faculty  of 
the  school  a  group  of  rules  and  instructions  relating  to 
the  gathering,  writing  and  editing  of  copy  for  newspapers. 
These  rules,  compiled,  after  careful  investigation,  represent 
the  best  practice  in  general  use  by  the  publications  of 
high  standard  in  this  country.  They  have  been  published 
in  a  bulletin  called,  “The  Deskbookof  the  School  of  Journal¬ 
ism  of  the  University  of  Missouri.”  The  bulletin  was 
originally  edited  by  Charles  G.  Ross,  formerly  a  member 
of  the  faculty  of  the  Missouri  School  of  Journalism,  now 
Washington  correspondent  of  the  St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 
The  revised  edition  of  the  bulletin  is  edited  by  Prof.  R. 
S.  Mann,  a  graduate  of  the  Missouri  .School  of  Journalism, 
now  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  school.  Professor 
Mann  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the 
Cleveland  Press. 

The  rules  given  in  this  chapter  are  taken  from  the  “Desk- 
book  of  the  School  of  Journalism  of  the  University  of 
Missouri.” 


245 


GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS. 


Tell  your  story  simply  and  naturally.  Shun  “fine  writing.” 

Not  every  story  must  be  short,  but  every  short  story 
should  be  concise.  Eliminate  each  word,  sentence  or  para¬ 
graph  not  essential  to  the  story. 

Accuracy,  terseness  and  fairness  are  requisites  of  a  good 
news  story;  and  the  greatest  of  these,  for  without  it  all 
other  good  qualities  are  as  nothing,  is  accuracy. 

Accurate  writing  presupposes  accurate  observation  and 
clear  thinking.  Be  sure  the  facts  are  plain  to  you  before 
you  try  to  tell  them  to  others. 

Read  your  own  and  other  newspapers.  Read  them  line 
by  line — local  news,  telegraph  news,  editorials,  depart¬ 
ments  and  advertisements.  You  can’t  expect  to  write  or 
edit  a  story  intelligently  unless  you  know  what  has  already 
been  printed  on  the  subject. 

Any  reporter  finding  news  of  unusual  importance  should 
telephone  the  office  at  once. 

WATCH  NAMES.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  ask  how  names 
are  spelled. 

In  taking  names  over  the  telephone  insist  the  letters  be 
clearly  indicated ;  ^  and  f,  b,  v,  and  d,  m  and  n  sound 
alike  over  the  telephone.  To  distinguish  them,  use  words 
beginning  with  the  letters  in  question,  thus :  s  as  in  summer , 
f,  as  in  Frank,  b  as  in  boy,  v  as  in  victor,  d  as  in  dog,  m 
as  in  match,  n  as  in  nothing. 

Keep  your  eyes  open  for  feature-story  possibilities.  Watch, 
too,  for  chances  to  get  good  pictures. 

Courtesy  pays.  Remember  this  in  answering  inquiries 
over  the  telephone  and  in  dealing  with  persons  who  visit 
the  newspaper  office. 


246 


STYLE  BOOK 


247 


Cultivate,  if  you  haven’t  it  already,  a  feeling  of  personal 
responsibility  for  your  story.  Never  be  content  with  get¬ 
ting  a  thing  almost  right ;  get  it,  as  far  as  is  humanly  pos¬ 
sible,  exactly  right.  And  always — 

WATCH  NAMES. 


PREPARATION  OF  COPY. 


Use  the  typewriter.  See  that  the  type  faces  are  kept  clean. 

Use  double  or  triple  space  between  lines  to  permit  legible 
interlineation.  Never  write  single-spaced  copy. 

Write  your  name  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  the 
first  page.  Number  each  page  except  the  first. 

Leave  a  margin  of  at  least  an  inch  at  the  left.  Leave  the 
top  third  of  the  first  page  blank  for  headlines  or  slug 
lines.  On  succeeding  pages  leave  at  least  an  inch  margin 
at  the  top  to  facilitate  pasting  together. 

Write  only  on  one  side  of  the  paper. 

Never  write  crosswise  in  the  margin.  Marginal  up-and- 
down  writing  makes  hard  work  for  the  copy  cutter,  who 
divides  the  story  into  “takes”  for  the  typesetting  machines. 

Indent  deeply  for  paragraphs — at  least  an  inch. 

Never  divide  a  word  from  one  page  to  another.  Avoid 
dividing  words  from  line  to  line.  Do  not  carry  over  the 
last  few  words  of  a  paragraph  to  another  page. 

When  your  story  is  being  edited  page  by  page  as  you 
write  it,  make  each  page  end  with  a  complete  paragraph. 

Use  special  care  in  writing  names  and  figures.  Never 
correct  them  by  superimposing  the  correct  character  on  the 
incorrect  one  without  erasure.  Cross  out  and  rewrite. 

Do  not  fasten  sheets  of  copy  together. 

Be  particularly  careful  if  obliged  to  write  long-hand 
copy.  Underscore  u  and  overscore  n  when  there  is  any 
chance  of  confusion.  Likewise,  underscore  a  and  overscore 
o.  Print  proper  names  and  unusual  words.  Ring  each 
period  or  make  a  small  cross  to  stand  for  it. 

248 


STYLE  BOOK 


249 


A  circle  drawn  around  an  abbreviation  indicates  the  word 
is  to  be  spelled  out  in  print.  A  circle  around  a  spelled-out 
word  indicates  it  is  to  be  abbreviated. 

When  there  is  any  chance  that  a  word  intentionally  mis¬ 
spelled  or  written  in  an  unusual  manner  will  be  changed  by 
the  printer,  write  “Follow  Copy”  in  the  margin. 

Do  not  write  two  stories  on  the  same  page,  unless  they 
are  items  to  be  run  under  the  same  head. 

To  elide  a  letter,  cross  it  out  unmistakably  with  an  oblique 
line  downward  from  right  to  left. 

An  oblique  line  drawn  downward  from  left  to  right 
through  a  letter  makes  it  a  small  (lower-case)  letter.  Do 
not  obscure  the  letter — remember  the  printer  must  read  it. 
Three  lines  under  a  letter  or  a  word  indicates  that  full 
capitals  are  desired.  Two  lines  call  for  small  capitals,  one 
line  for  italics  and  a  wavy  line  for  bold-face  type. 

Use  an  “end-mark”  to  indicate  your  story  is  completed. 
A  cross  made  of  parallel  lines  or  30  in  a  circle  may  be  used. 

When  there  is  time,  read  your  story  carefully  before 
handing  it  to  the  city  editor.  Be  constantly  on  guard  against 
inaccuracy  or  libel.  Call  the  attention  of  the  city  editor 
to  any  point  in  your  story  that  appears  doubtful  or  danger¬ 
ous. 

Remember  that  the  printer  is  neither  a  mind-reader  nor 
a  handwriting  expert.  The  names  and  facts  with  which  the 
writer  is  familiar  are  to  him  only  so  many  unrelated  words 
to  be  put  into  type  as  he  finds  them.  Every  word,  every 
letter,  should  therefore  be  plainly  written.  Every  needed 
punctuation  mark  should  be  in  place.  The  correction  of 
errors  in  type  is  expensive  and  time-consuming.  Save  money 
and  time  for  your  office  by  care  in  writing  and  editing  copy. 

Again  and  always — WATCH  NAMES.  Verify  every 
name  of  whose  correctness  you  are  not  certain. 


WORDING  THE  STORY. 


Get  the  dictionary  habit.  Never  use  a  word  unless  you 
are  sure  of  its  meaning. 

Don’t  write  anything  that  will  expose  the  paper  to 
ridicule.  For  example :  “No  lights  of  any  description  are 
allowed.  Even  in  the  royal  palace  candles  are  used.” — 
London  newspaper. 

It  is  rarely  necessary  to  refer  to  reporters,  singly  or  col¬ 
lectively. 

Unless  the  time  or  the  place  is  the  feature  of  the  story, 
find  some  other  way  of  beginning.  Don’t  write,  for  example. 
“At  Broadway  and  Ninth  street  yesterday,  a  motor  car.  .” 

Don’t  begin  a  story  with  at  a  meeting  of  or  never  in  the 
history  of. 

Usually  a  person  merely  says  a  thing.  Avoid  asserts, 
states,  declares,  unless  you  want  to  include  the  formality  or 
insistence  implied  by  those  words.  And  remember  that 
admits  usually  has  a  derogatory  connotation. 

Don’t  think  it  necessary  to  use  stilted  or  affected  language 
in  mentioning  death.  Remember  that  the  simplest  words 
are  the  most  solemn  ones.  Don’t  use  the  deceased  in  re¬ 
ferring  to  a  dead  person,  nor  remains  for  body,  nor  casket 
for  coffin,  nor  interred  for  buried,  nor  obsequies  for  funeral. 

Write  that  a  person  died  of  typhoid  fever,  not  from 
typhoid  fever.  Don’t  write  the  typhoid  fever. 

Avoid  the  obsequious,  flattering  attitude  reflected  in  such 
expressions  as  lady  for  woman,  gentleman  for  man,  banquet 
for  dinner  or  luncheon,  accepts  a  position  for  obtains  work, 
prominent  citizen,  charming  hostess,  talented  voung  lady. 

250 


STYLE  BOOK 


251 


Avoid  the  meaningless  words  with  which  some  writers 
seek  to  emphasize  their  statements.  If  a  building  is  destroy¬ 
ed,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  it  is  completely  destroyed.  If 
a  result  is  certain,  you  add  nothing  by  calling  it  absolutely 
certain.  If  a  thing  is  unique,  it  is  silly  to  describe  it  as 
very  unique  or  most  unique.  These  are  only  examples  of 
a  host  of  such  expressions. 

Think  twice  before  writing  very.  Long  abuse  has  rob¬ 
bed  it  of  force.  A  beautiful  sunset  carries  as  much  mean¬ 
ing  as  a  very  beautiful  sunset.  A  conservative  rule  is  to 
leave  out  nine-tenths  of  the  verys  you  feel  inclined  to  write. 

Don’t  use  superlatives  unless  you  are  positive  they  are  ac¬ 
curate.  Such  expressions  as  the  oldest  man  in  Missouri,  the 
largest  audience  ever  known,  the  most  exciting  game  seen 
in  Columbia,  can  hardly  ever  be  verified. 

Don’t  assume  too  much,  or  too  little,  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  your  readers.  Write  “at  a  meeting  of  the  Com¬ 
mercial  Club,”  rather  than  “the  meeting”  unless  the  meeting 
has  been  well  advertised  (But  “the  recent  session  of  Con¬ 
gress”)  ;  “John  Jones,  a  barber,”  rather  than  “John  Jones, 
the  barber”  (but  “Thomas  A.  Edison,  the  inventor”). 

Don’t  use  technical  terms  or  foreign  words  that  may  not 
be  readily  understood  by  your  readers. 

Avoid  legal  terms.  Don’t  write  asks  judgment  against 
said  defendant  when  you  mean  sues. 

Use  slang  on  rare  occasions  only.  Then  it  must  be 
appropriate,  not  only  to  the  meaning,  but  to  the  tone  of  the 
story.  In  general,  one  will  never  make  a  mistake  by  avoid¬ 
ing  a  slang  term  in  favor  of  its  more  conservative  equivalent. 
If  you  do  use  slang  or  colloquial  expressions,  don’t  try  to 
smooth  it  over  by  sprinkling  in  quotation  marks. 

Don’t  use  a  plural  verb  or  pronoun  with  a  collective  noun 
unless  there  is  a  real  reason  for  considering  the  noun  as  a 


252 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


plural.  Don’t  write,  for  example,  “The  executive  committee 
are  preparing  an  order,”  or  “The  club  is  ready  to  start  their 
membership  campaign,”  or  “The  store  will  hold  their  annual 
bargain  sale.”  In  the  second  example  given,  is  and  their 
do  not  even  agree  with  each  other  in  number.  In  the  third, 
store  is  not  a  real  collective  noun,  but  is  confused  with  the 
proprietors  through  loose  thinking. 

Don’t  permit  words  which  fall  between  the  subject  and 
predicate  to  cause  confusion  as  to  number.  The  reporter 
who  writes,  “The  event  which  precipitated  matters  were  of 
little  importance,”  would  not  have  done  so  had  he  kept 
clearly  in  mind  that  event,  not  matters,  was  the  subject  of 
the  sentence. 

Politics,  ethics  and  similar  words  take  the  singular  verb. 

Remember  that  don't  is  the  contraction  for  do  not,  doesn’t 
for  does  not.  You  wouldn’t  say  “He  do  not.” 

Use  it,  not  she,  for  cities,  states,  nations,  etc.  She  may  be 
used  for  ships. 

Avoid  such  expressions  as  had  his  leg  broken,  had  his 
pocket  picked.  Sane  persons  don’t  have  these  things  done 
to  themselves. 

In  giving  lists  of  officers,  put  the  name  of  the  office  be¬ 
fore  the  name  of  the  person.  Punctuate  as  follows :  Presi¬ 
dent,  John  Smith;  secretary,  Horace  Jones;  treasurer,  J. 
B.  Brown;  directors,  W.  H.  West,  J.  T.  North,  A.  A. 
Andrews,  S.  S.  Sampson.  If  the  name  of  the  person  were 
placed  first,  the  reader  would  have  to  read  all  the  last  four 
names  before  learning  what  office  any  of  them  held.  An 
exception  to  this  rule  is  in  such  a  construction  as :  “The 
members  of  the  committee  are  J.  J.  Anderson,  chairman; 
T.  T.  Thomas,  G.  G.  George  and  Benjamin  Harris. 


STYLE  BOOK 


253 


Don’t  use  “bromides,”  such  as  burly  negro ,  crisp  $5  bill, 
beyond  peradventure  of  doubt,  clutches  of  the  law,  grim 
reaper,  neat  sum,  rash  act. 

Rarely  is  it  necessary  to  mention  a  man’s  race  in  a  news 
story.  Don’t  write  Abraham  Silver,  a  Jew,  or  Peter  Dolato, 
an  Italian,  unless  the  race  is  an  essential  part  of  the  story. 

Use  dialect  only  when  so  instructed. 

Avoid  foreigner.  It  has  an  offensive  connotation  which 
may  usually  be  avoided  by  using  alien.  But  remember  that 
citizens  of  the  United  States  are  Americans,  regardless  of 
where  they  or  their  parents  were  born.  If  it  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  story,  use  of  Italian  birth,  or  of  Italian  descent. 

Never  use  an  offensive  racial  designation. 

Don’t  call  a  Chinese  a  Chinaman,  or  a  Japanese  a  Jap, 
in  headlines  or  in  text. 

Don’t  use  colored  man  for  negro.  Instead  of  negress  use 
negro f  or,  if  necessary,  negro  woman. 

Don’t  use  people  for  persons.  Write  “the  people  of  the 
United  States,”  but  “the  persons  who  saw'  the  accident.” 

Write  Bolsheviki  (plural  noun),  Bolshevist  (singular  noun 
and  adjective;  preferable  to  Bolshevik) ,  Bolshevism  (not 
B olshevikism) .  Capitalize  the  various  forms  of  this  word 
when  it  refers  to  an  organized  political  party,  but  not  other¬ 
wise.  Thus :  “The  Bolshevist  troops  near  Archangel.” — 
“The  spread  of  bolshevism  throughout  the  world.” — “The 
bolsheviki  of  the  United  States.” 

Use  yesterday,  today  and  tomorrow  rather  than  the  names 
of  the  days,  unless  instructed  to  the  contrary.  For  dates 
within  a  week  before  or  after  the  date  of  publication,  use 
the  names  of  the  days  rather  than  the  date  by  month  and 
number.  Thus  a  paper  dated  Saturday,  March  20,  would 
say:  “John  Jones,  who  was  injured  Tuesday,  died  yester¬ 
day,”  rather  than  “John  Jones,  who  was  injured  on  March 


254 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


16,  died  Friday.”  In  writing  for  a  morning  paper,  remember 
to  calculate  from  the  date  of  the  paper  rather  than  the  date 
on  which  you  write  the  story.  In  stories  under  datelines,  of 
course,  today  means  the  date  of  the  story  rather  than  the 
date  of  the  paper. 

If  the  name  of  the  day  is  enough  to  carry  your  meaning, 
don’t  add  the  month  and  number.  “The  club  will  meet 
Tuesday”  is  better  than  “The  club  will  meet  Tuesday,  March 
23,  1920.” 

Write  November  18,  not  November  18 th. 

Don’t  write  that  a  person  died  as  the  result  of  an  opera¬ 
tion.  Usually  in  such  a  case  death  is  the  result  of  condi¬ 
tions  that  existed  before  the  operation. 

To  effect  means  to  bring  to  pass  or  to  accomplish.  Don’t 
use  this  word  when  you  mean  to  affect.  Consult  the  dic¬ 
tionary. 

Don’t  use  saloonist,  burglarize ,  suicide  (as  a  verb),  en¬ 
thuse,  or  gents. 

Don’t  use  onto  or  alright.  The  correct  forms  are  on  to 

o 

and  all  right.  Already,  however,  is  a  good  word. 

Use  suffragist,  not  suffragette. 

Usually  begin  is  more  appropriate  than  commence  or  in¬ 
augurate.  Commence  is  more  formal  than  begin,  while  in¬ 
augurate  is  properly  applied  only  to  matters  of  considerable 
importance. 

It’s  parcel  post,  not  parcels  post. 

Don’t  use  liable  when  you  mean  likely.  Every  lawbreaker 
is  liable  to  arrest,  but  it  depends  upon  circumstances  whether 
he  is  likely  to  be  arrested. 

Don’t  use  majority  when  most  will  do  as  well.  Majority 
implies  a  definite  count. 

If  A  gets  28  votes,  B  16  votes,  C  6  votes  and  D  2  votes, 
A  has  a  majority  of  4  votes.  If  A  gets  22  votes.  B  16 


STYLE  BOOK 


255 


votes,  C  6  votes,  and  D  8  votes,  no  one  has  a  majority ,  but 
A  has  a  plurality  of  6  votes.  In  the  first  case  A  has  more 
votes  than  all  his  opponents  combined,  and  the  majority 
measures  this  difference.  In  the  second  case  A  has  more 
votes  than  any  of  his  opponents,  but  not  so  many  as  all  of 
them  combined ;  the  plurality  measures  his  margin  over  his 
nearest  competitor. 

Don’t  use  groom  for  bridegroom.  But  bride  and  groom 
is  permissible. 

Don’t  use  officer  for  patrolman  or  policeman. 

Don’t  use  past  few  days  for  last  few  days. 

Use  foregoing  instead  of  above  as  an  adjective,  as  “the 
foregoing  statement.”  But:  “The  statement  given  above 
is  true.” 

Don’t  use  anticipate  when  you  mean  expect.  Consult  the 
dictionary. 

Don’t  use  party  for  person  except  in  quoting  legal  docu¬ 
ments. 

Don’t  use  like  as  a  conjunction.  Write  “He  looks  like  his 
brother,”  but  not  “He  sings  like  he  enjoyed  his  work,”  or 
“He  sings  like  he  used  to.”  The  correct  forms  would  be 
“He  sings  as  if  he  enjoyed  his  work,”  and  “He  sings  as 
he  used  to. 

Don’t  use  divine  for  preacher  or  minister. 

Be  natural.  Write  half  a  mile,  rather  than  one-half  of  a 
mile. 

Say  a  man  named  Smith  rather  than  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Smith. 

Say  former  judge,  not  ex-judge. 

The  building  is  the  capitol;  the  city,  the  capital. 

Say  40  years  old,  not  aged  40  years. 

Say  illustrated  with,  not  by,  stereopticon  views. 

Use  preventive,  not  preventative. 


256 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Graduate  is  a  transitive  verb.  A  school  graduates  its 
pupils ;  they  are  graduated. 

Distinguish  between  during  the  week  (throughout  the 
whole  course  of  the  week)  and  in  the  week  (at  some  par¬ 
ticular  time  in  that  period). 

O  is  used  with  the  vocative,  without  punctuation:  “O 
most  gracious  king!”  Oh  is  used  for  an  exclamation,  fol¬ 
lowed  usually  by  a  comma  or  an  exclamation  point:  “Oh, 
I  see  what  you  mean.” — “Oh,  how  fortunate!” — “Oh!  Not 
another  word !” 

Things  of  the  same  general  class  are  compared  with  each 
other  to  bring  out  their  points  of  similarity  and  dissimilarity ; 
one  thing  is  compared  to  another  of  a  different  class,  to 
bring  out  a  real  or  fancied  resemblance.  “He  compared 
the  University  of  Missouri  with  that  of  Kansas.” — “He 
compared  the  University  to  a  tree  of  many  branches.” 

Upon  and  on,  in  the  sense  of  speaking  on  (or  upon)  a 
topic,  doting  on  (or  upon)  a  child,  etc.,  have  the  same 
significance  and  may  be  used  interchangeably,  though  upon 
is  generally  understood  to  be  a  bit  more  formal.  Thus 
one  would  go  on  an  errand ;  the  President  would  deliver 
a  message  upon  our  foreign  relations.  But  even  in  ref¬ 
erence  to  the  most  solemn  matters  on  may  be  used  for  the 
added  vigor  of  the  shorter  form.  No  hard  and  fast  distinc¬ 
tion  can  be  drawn. 

To  write  “just  has  arrived,”  on  the  theory  that  the  verb 
should  never  be  split  is  absurd.  Be  natural.  “Has  just  ar¬ 
rived”  is  recognized  by  the  best  usage.  Split  infinitives, 
however,  should  be  avoided.  In  eliminating  the  split  infini¬ 
tive,  use  the  natural  form :  “Is  expected  to  denounce  the 
measure  emphatically,”  rather  than  “Is  expected  emphatical¬ 
ly  to  denounce,”  or  “to  denounce  emphatically  the  measure.” 


STYLE  BOOK 


257 


Use  o'clock  in  preference  to  a.  m.  or  p.  m.  in  such  expres¬ 
sions  as  at  8  o’clock  last  night,  at  10:30  o’clock  Wednes¬ 
day  morning.  Use  a.  m.  or  p.  m.,  however,  where  you 
would  otherwise  have  to  use  in  the  morning,  in  the  eve¬ 
ning,  etc.  Thus:  “Wednesday’s  program  will  begin  at  8:15 
a.  m.” — “The  swimming  pool  will  be  open  daily  from 
8  a.  m.  until  9  p.  m.”  Don’t  repeat  by  using  morning 
with  a.  m.,  etc. 

In  general,  give  the  hour  before  the  day.  “At  5  o’clock 
yesterday  afternoon.” 


17 


CAPITALIZATION 


Use  capitals  sparingly  in  cases  not  covered  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  rules.  Give  the  lower-case  the  preference  unless  there 
is  a  strong  reason  for  using  the  capital. 

Capitalize  titles  preceding  names,  as  Chief  of  Police  Smith, 
Professor  Jones,  General  Logan.  But  lower-case  titles 
standing  alone  or  following  names,  as  the  chief  of  police, 
Dr.  A.  Ross  Hill,  president  of  the  University  of  Missouri ; 
William  Jones,  professor  of  economics;  except  President 
and  Vice-President  referring  to  the  President  and  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  titles  of  the  na¬ 
tional  Cabinet  officers,  as  Secretary  of  War,  which  are  always 
to  be  capitalized.  Presidency  and  presidential  are  not  cap¬ 
italized,  nor  are  such  terms  as  assistant  secretary  of  zvar. 
(See  also  “Titles.”) 

Do  not  capitalize  former  preceding  a  title,  as  former  Sen¬ 
ator  Wilson.  Former  is  preferred  to  ex-. 

Lower-case  king  and  all  such  words  when  not  used  with 
the  name  of  a  specific  person,  as  the  king  of  England. 

Capitalize  epithets  affixed  to  proper  names,  as  Alexander 
the  Great. 

Capitalize  Union,  Nation,  Republic,  the  States  when  re¬ 
ferring  to  the  United  States.  But  do  not  capitalize  ad¬ 
jectives  derived  from  such  names,  as  national,  federal, 
etc.  Do  not  capitalize  government. 

Do  not  capitalize  state. 

Capitalize  constitution  only  when  referring  to  that  of 
the  United  States. 

Capitalize  such  terms  as  Stars  and  Stripes,  Old  Glory, 
Lbiion  Jack,  Stars  and  Bars,  etc. 

258 


STYLE  BOOK 


259 


Capitalize  League  of  Nations  and  also  League  referring 
to  the  League  of  Nations. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  national  legislative  bodies,  as  Con¬ 
gress,  House  of  Representatives  or  House,  Senate,  Parlia¬ 
ment,  Reichstag,  Chamber  (France).  Do  not  capitalize 
names  of  committees  of  these  bodies,  as  the  foreign  re¬ 
lations  committee  of  the  Senate. 

Capitalize  state  legislature  and  synonymous  terms  ( legis¬ 
lature ,  assembly,  general  assembly)  only  when  the  Mis¬ 
souri  Legislature  is  meant.  Capitalize  senate,  house  of  rep¬ 
resentatives  and  house  when  referring  to  the  houses  of  the 
Missouri  Legislature. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  federal  and  state  departments 
and  bureaus,  as  Department  of  Agriculture,  State  Insurance 
Department,  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics.  But  lower-case 
municipal  departments,  as  fire  department,  water  and  light 
department,  street  department. 

Capitalize  federal  reserve  bank  and  federal  reserve  dis¬ 
trict  in  referring  to  a  specific  bank  or  district;  otherwise 
use  lower-case.  Capitalize  Federal  Reserve  Board,  but 
lower-case  federal  reserve  system. 

Capitalize  specific  names  of  courts  of  record,  as  Boone 
County  Circuit  Court,  Kansas  City  Court  of  Appeals,  Mis¬ 
souri  Supreme  Court.  Capitalize  circuit  court,  standing 
alone,  only  when  the  Boone  County  Circuit  Court  is  meant. 
The  same  rule  applies  to  county  court  and  probate  court. 
Do  not  capitalize  police  court. 

Capitalize  county  only  when  used  in  a  specific  name,  as 
Boone  County,  County  Mayo. 

Capitalize  the  East,  the  West ,  the  Middle  West,  the  Near 
East,  the  Orient  and  other  terms  used  for  definite  regions ; 
but  do  not  capitalize  east,  zvest,  etc.,  when  used  merely  to 
designate  direction  or  point  of  compass,  as  “west  of  here.” 


260 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Do  not  capitalize  westerner,  southerner,  western  states  and 
other  such  derivatives. 

Capitalize  sections  of  a  state,  as  Northern  Missouri,  Cen¬ 
tral  Missouri,  etc.,  but  not  the  northern  part  of  Missouri, 
etc. 

Capitalize  the  full  names  of  associations,  clubs,  societies, 
companies,  etc.,  as  Missouri  Equal  Suffrage  Association, 
Tuesday  Club,  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Animals,  Star  Publishing  Company.  The  preceding  such  a 
name  is  not  to  be  capitalized.  Do  not  capitalize  association, 
club,  etc.,  when  not  attached  to  specific  name.  When  not 
using  title  of  firm,  wu’te  the  S.  H.  Jones  shoe  store. 

Capitalize  university,  college,  academy,  etc.,  when  part 
of  a  title,  as  University  of  Missouri,  Central  College,  Mis¬ 
souri  Military  Academy.  But  do  not  capitalize  when  the 
plural  is  used,  as  the  state  universities  of  Missouri,  Kan¬ 
sas  and  Ohio. 

Capitalize  building,  hall,  house ,  hotel,  theater,  etc.,  when 
used  with  a  distinguishing  name,  as  Nowell  Building, 
Parker  House,  Athens  Hotel,  Star  Theater. 

Capitalize  room,  etc.,  when  followed  by  a  number  or 
letter,  as  Room  31,  Academic  Hall;  Parlor  C.  Grandview 
Hotel. 

Do  not  capitalize  postoffice,  courthouse,  poorhouse,  council 
chamber,  city  hall,  armory,  army,  navy,  marine  corps,  ca¬ 
dets,  fraternity  (as  Phi  Delta  Theta  fraternity). 

Capitalize  the  names  of  all  political  parties,  in  this  and 
other  countries,  as  Democratic,  Republican,  Socialist,  Lib¬ 
eral,  Tory,  Union,  Bolshevist.  But  do  not  capitalize  such 
words,  or  their  derivatives,  when  used  in  a  general  sense, 
as  republican  form  of  government,  democratic  tendencies, 
socialist  views,  bolshevist  ideas. 


STYLE  BOOK 


261 


Capitalize  the  names  of  expositions,  congresses,  conven¬ 
tions,  etc.,  as  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  World’s  Press 
Congress,  Journalism  Week.  But  do  not  capitalize  such 
words  as  third  annual,  biennial,  etc.,  in  connection  with  these 
names. 

Capitalize  Boy  Scouts.  Make  Campfire  (referring  to  the 
girls’  organization)  one  word,  capitalized. 

Capitalize  pole,  island,  isthmus,  cape,  ocean,  bay,  river, 
and  all  such  geographical  terms  when  used  in  specific 
names,  as  North  Pole,  South  Sea  Islands,  Cape  Hatteras, 
Hudson  Bay,  Pacific  Ocean,  Mississippi  River,  Isthmus 
of  Panama. 

Capitalize,  when  used  with  a  distinguishing  name,  ward, 
precinct,  square,  garden,  park,  etc.,  as  First  Ward,  Eighth 
Precinct,  City  Hall  Square,  Madison  Square  Garden,  For¬ 
est  Park. 

Do  not  capitalize  street,  avenue,  boulevard,  place,  lane, 
terrace,  way,  road,  highway,  etc.,  as  Ninth  street,  More’s 
boulevard,  Maryland  place,  Rosemary  lane,  Old  Trails  road, 
Ashland  gravel  road. 

Do  not  capitalize  addition,  depot,  elevator,  mine,  station, 
stockyards,  etc.,  as  Wabash  freight  depot,  Yellow  Dog 
mine,  Clover  Leaf  station,  Kansas  City  stockyards. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  French  streets  and  places,  as 
Rue  de  la  Paix,  Place  de  la  Concorde. 

Capitalize  church  when  used  in  a  specific  name,  as  Wilkes 
Boulevard  Methodist  Church,  First  Christian  Church.  But 
a  Methodist  church,  a  Christian  church. 

Do  not  capitalize  school  in  Sunday  school  unless  a  specific 
name  is  given,  as  First  Presbyterian  Sunday  School. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  all  religious  denominations,  as 
Baptist,  Quaker,  Mormon,  Methodist. 


262 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Capitalize  names  for  the  Bible,  as  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
the  Book  of  Books.  But  do  not  capitalize  adjectives  de- 
rived  from  such  names,  as  biblical,  scriptural.  Capitalize 
the  names  of  books  of  the  Bible. 

Capitalize  all  names  used  for  the  Deity,  including  per¬ 
sonal  pronouns. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  holidays,  as  Fourth  of  July,  Do¬ 
minion  Day,  Columbus  Day,  Washington’s  Birthday. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  notable  events  and  things,  as  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  War  of  1812,  the  Revo¬ 
lution,  the  Reformation,  the  Civil  War,  the  Battle  of  the 
Marne. 

Capitalize  titles  of  specific  treaties,  laws,  bills,  etc.,  as 
Treaty  of  Versailles,  Eleventh  Amendment,  Workmen’s 
Compensation  Act,  Good  Roads  Bill.  But  when  the  ref¬ 
erence  is  general  use  lower-case,  as  the  good  roads  legis¬ 
lation  of  the  last  Congress. 

Capitalize  such  names  as  Triple  Alliance,  Triple  Entente, 
Allies. 

Capitalize  the  fanciful  titles  of  cities  and  states,  as  the 
Mound  City,  the  Buckeye  State. 

Capitalize  the  nicknames  of  baseball,  football  and  other 
athletic  teams  as  Chicago  Cubs,  Boston  Braves,  Tigers,  Jay- 
hawkers. 

Capitalize  distinctive  names  of  localities  in  cities,  as 
West  End,  Rob  Hill,  Back  Bay,  Happy  Hollow. 

Capitalize  names  of  military  organizations,  as  Eighty- 
third  Regiment,  Company  F,  National  Guard,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic. 

Capitalize  the  names  of  races  and  nationalities,  except 
the  negro,  as  Italian,  American,  Indian. 

Capitalize  college  degrees,  whether  written  in  full  or 
abbreviated,  as  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Doctor  of  Laws,  Bachelor 


STYLE  BOOK 


263 


of  Science  in  Education,  A.  B  ,  LL.  D.,  B.  S.  in  Ed.  (when 
the  year  is  given,  use  the  form :  A.  B.  ’09 — no  comma  be¬ 
tween  degree  and  year. 

Capitalize  high  school  when  used  as  in  Moberly  (Mo.) 
High  School  (but  the  high  school  at  Moberly,  Mo.) 

Capitalize,  but  do  not  quote,  the  titles  of  newspapers  and 
other  periodicals,  as  the  Columbia  Evening  Missourian,  the 
New  York  World,  the  Outlook,  the  Saturday  Evening  Post. 
Do  not  capitalize  the. 

Capitalize  and  quote  the  titles  of  books,  plays,  poems, 
songs,  speeches,  etc.,  as  “The  Scarlet  Letter,”  “Within  the 
Law,”  “The  Man  With  the  Hoe,”  “The  University  and  the 
State.”  The  beginning  a  title  must  be  capitalized  and  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  quotation.  All  the  principal  words — that  is, 
nouns,  pronouns,  verbs,  adjectives,  adverbs  and  interjections 
— are  to  be  capitalized,  no  matter  how  short;  thus:  “The 
Man  Who  Would  Be  King.”  Other  parts  of  speech — 
that  is,  prepositions,  conjunctions  and  articles — are  to  be 
capitalized  only  when  they  contain  four  or  more  letters ; 
thus :  at,  in,  a  for,  Between,  Through,  Into.  The  same 
rules  apply  to  capitalization  in  headlines  but  not  to  scrip¬ 
tural  texts  or  formal  subjects  for  debate,  in  which  only 
the  first  word  is  capitalized. 

In  titles  of  books,  plays,  etc.,  and  in  headlines  capitalize 
prepositions  that  are  closely  connected  with  verbs :  “He 
Was  Voted  For  by  His  Party.” — “He  Was  Stared  At  by 
the  Crowd.” 

Capitalize  the  first  word  after  a  colon  in  giving  lists  of 
officers ;  thus  :  “The  following  were  elected :  President, 
William  Jones;  vice-president,  Frank  Smith,”  etc.  In  gen¬ 
eral,  however,  the  use  of  capital  or  small  letter  after  the 
colon  is  dependent  upon  the  sense.  Use  a  capital  when  the 
passage  after  the  colon  would  have  an  independent  mean- 


264 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


ing.  Use  lower-case  when  the  passage  is  dependent  upon 
the  preceding  clause.  There  is  no  hard  and  fast  rule. 

Capitalize  adjectives  derived  from  proper  nouns,  as  Eng¬ 
lish,  Elizabethan,  Germanic,  Teutonic.  But  do  not  capi¬ 
talize  proper  names  and  derivatives  whose  original  signifi¬ 
cance  has  been  obscured  by  long  and  common  usage. 
Under  this  head  fall  such  words  as  india  rubber,  street 
arab,  pasteurize,  macadam,  axminster,  gatling,  paris  green, 
plaster  of  paris,  philippic,  socratic,  herculean,  guillotine, 
utopia,  bohemian,  philistine,  platonic. 

Capitalize  the  particles  in  French  names,  as  le ,  la,  de, 
du,  when  used  without  a  Christian  name  or  title  preceding, 
as  Du  Maurier.  But  lower-case  when  preceded  by  a  name 
or  title,  as  George  du  Maurier.  The  same  rule  applies  to 
the  German  von :  Field  Marshal  von  Mackensen,  but,  with¬ 
out  Christian  name  or  title,  Von  Mackensen.  Always  cap¬ 
italize  Van  in  Dutch  names  unless  personal  preference  dic¬ 
tates  an  exception,  as  Henry  van  Dyke. 

Capitalize  only  the  distinguishing  words  where  two  or 
more  names  are  connected,  as  the  Wabash  and  Missouri 
Pacific  railroads.  (In  singular  form,  Wabash  Railroad.) 

Do  not  capitalize  senior,  junior,  sophomore,  freshman. 
And  remember  the  adjective  form  of  freshman  is  freshman, 
as  the  freshman  football  team,  freshman  girls  (you  wouldn’t 
write  sophomores  girls). 

Do  not  capitalize  the  seasons  of  the  year  unless  they  are 
personified. 

Do  not  capitalize  a.  m.  and  p.  m.  except  in  headlines. 

Capitalize  the  first  word  of  a  direct  or  indirect  quotation 
which  would  make  a  complete  sentence  by  itself.  Thus : 
“Franklin  said,  ‘A  penny  saved  is  a  penny  earned.’  ” — 
“The  question  is,  Shall  the  bill  pass?”  Do  not  capitalize 
when  the  quotation  is  woven  into  the  sentence  as  in  this: 


STYLE  BOOK 


265 


“The  committee’s  report  criticised  the  bill  on  the  grounds 
that  ‘production  would  be  lessened,’  that  ‘trade  relations 
with  foreign  countries  would  be  stifled’  and  that  the  abuses 
aimed  at  could  be  ‘overcome  by  the  enforcement  of  laws 
already  in  existence.’  ” 


ABBREVIATION 


Never  use  an  abbreviation  that  would  be  unintelligible  to 
the  average  reader.  Common  abbreviations  that  may  be 
used  when  the  context  makes  the  meaning  plain  are  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  W.  C.  T.  U.  But  no  abbreviation 
whose  meaning  is  not  clear  at  a  glance  is  permitted  either 
in  text  or  headlines. 

Use  the  following  forms  for  the  names  of  states,  terri¬ 
tories  and  possessions  of  the  United  States,  when  used 
after  the  names  of  towns  or  cities : 


Ala. 

Me. 

Ore. 

Alaska 

Mass. 

Pa. 

Ariz. 

Md. 

P.  I.  (Philippine 

Ark. 

Mich. 

Islands) 

Cal. 

Minn. 

P.  R.  (Porto  Rico) 

Colo.  • 

Miss. 

R.  I. 

Conn. 

Mo. 

S.  C. 

D.  C. 

Mont. 

S.  D. 

Del. 

N.  C. 

Tenn. 

Fla. 

N.  D. 

Tex. 

Ga. 

Neb. 

Hawaii 

Idaho 

Nev. 

Utah 

Ill. 

N.  H. 

Va. 

Ind. 

N.  J. 

Vt. 

Ia. 

N.  M. 

Wash. 

Kan. 

N.  Y. 

Wis. 

Ky. 

Ohio 

W.  Va. 

La. 

Okla. 

Wyo. 

266 


STYLE  BOOK 


26? 


Spell  out  United  States  except  in  adc&esses,  as  Columbia, 
Mo.,  U.  S.  A.,  or  in  such  connections  as  U.  S.  S.  Oregon, 
Lieut.  James  Smith,  U.  S.  A.,  Capt.  William  Jones,  U.  S. 
N.  Abbreviation  of  United  States  in  headlines  to  save 
space  is  permitted. 

Do  not  abbreviate  the  names  of  states  when  not  follow¬ 
ing'  names  of  cities,  even  in  headlines.  Note  the  following 
style:  In  Missouri.  At  Neosho,  Mo.  At  Neosho,  New¬ 
ton  County,  Mo.  In  Newton  County,  Missouri. 

Abbreviate  Saint  or  Saints  in  proper  names,  as  St.  Louis, 
St.  Paul,  SS.  Peter  and  Paul’s  Church,  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

Spell  out  Fort  and  Mount  in  proper  names,  as  Fort 
Worth,  Fort  Scott,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Mount  Vernon, 
Mount  Olympus. 

Do  not  abbreviate  the  names  of  cities,  as  St.  Joe  for 
St.  Joseph,  Frisco  for  San  Francisco. 

When  used  before  the  full  name  (as  William  Smith  or 
W.  K.  Smith),  abbreviate  Doctor,  Professor  and  the  Rev¬ 
erend  to  Dr.,  Prof,  and  the  Rev.  Spell  out  the  title  when  used 
before  the  surname  only,  as  Doctor  Brown,  Professor  Jones, 
the  Reverend  Mr.  White.  (See  also  “Titles.”) 

Abbreviate  military  titles  only  when  used  before  a  full 
name,  as  Brig.-Gen.  J.  B.  Jones,  Brigadier-General  Jones. 
Use  these  abbreviations  :  Gen.,  Lieut. -Gen.,  Maj.-Gen.,  Brig.- 
Gen.,  Col.,  Maj.,  Capt.,  Lieut.,  Sergt.,  Corp.  Do  not  abbrevi¬ 
ate  private. 

When  used  before  the  full  name,  abbreviate  naval  titles 
that  have  commonly  understood  abbreviations,  such  as  lieu¬ 
tenant  and  captain;  spell  out  when  used  with  last  name 
only.  Always  spell  out  naval  titles  that  have  no  commonly 
understood  abbreviations,  such  as  admiral,  ensign,  boat- 


szvam. 


268 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Spell  out  governor ,  lieutenant-governor ,  senator,  repre¬ 
sentative,  superintendent,  principal,  and  President.  Gov¬ 
ernor  and  lieutenant-governor ,  but  not  the  others,  may  be 
abbreviated  in  headlines  when  used  before  a  name,  as  Gov. 
Gardner,  Lieut. -Gov.  Crossley. 

Abbreviate  Sr.  and  Jr.  after  names.  Put  a  comma  on 
each  side;  thus:  “John  Jones,  Jr.,  also  spoke/’ 

Abbreviate  degrees  used  after  a  name,  as  A.  B.,  A.  M., 
Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  D.  D.,  etc. 

In  giving  names  of  firms  or  corporations,  use  &  for  and 
and  abbreviate  company;  spell  out  brothers,  also  railway 
and  railroad.  Thus:  Smith  &  Jones  Co.,  Chicago,  Mil¬ 
waukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad,  Brown  Jewelry  Co.,  Jeffer¬ 
son  Brothers,  American  Steel  &  Wire  Co. 

Abbreviate  the  names  of  political  parties  when  used  as 
follows  in  giving  election  returns:  For  senator:  Smith 
(Rep.),  4,777;  Wilkes  (Dem.),  3,592.  Otherwise  spell  out. 

Abbreviate  and  capitalize  number  when  followed  by  num¬ 
erals,  as  No.  10,  Nos.  3  and  8. 

Class  of  ’04  may  be  used  for  Class  of  1904 

Spell  out  the  names  of  months,  except  in  datelines,  and 
always  spell  out  the  names  of  days.  In  datelines  use  these 
forms:  Jan.,  Feb.,  March,  April,  May,  June,  July,  Aug., 
Sept.,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec. 

Never,  except  for  special  reason,  abbreviate  proper 
names,  as  Geo.,  Jno.,  etc.  But  Tom  is  not  to  be  made 
Thomas;  Dan,  Daniel,  etc.,  when  the  shorter  forms  are 
real  names,  as  is  often  the  case.  Distinguish  such  diminu¬ 
tives,  which  take  no  periods,  from  abbreviations,  such  as 
Geo.  and  Jno.,  which  require  periods.  (See  also  “Titles.”) 

Spell  out  per  cent ;  use  figures  before  it  and  no  period 
after  it:  A  gain  of  10  per  cent  was  made.”  Percentage 
is  one  word. 


STYLE  BOOK 


269 


Do  not  abbreviate  street,  avenue  or  boulevard,  as  10 
North  Tenth  street,  Hicks  avenue,  More’s  boulevard.  Spell 
out  and  capitalize  east,  north,  west,  south,  when  used  with 
the  name  of  a  street  as  West  Forty-fifth  street.  Nortlnvest, 
etc.,  when  forming  the  last  part  of  a  street  address,  should 
be  abbreviated,  as  118  E  street,  N.  W. 

Never  use  Xmas  for  Christmas. 


FIGURES 


In  general  (note  exceptions  below),  definite  numbers 
up  to  100  are  to  be  spelled  out  in  news ;  use  figures  for 
100  and  above.  Thus :  “The  petition  was  signed  by 
seventy-five  persons.” — “The  petition  was  signed  by  100 
persons.” 

Where  a  number  smaller  than  100  occurs  in  the  same 
sentence  and  connection  with  one  of  100  or  more,  put  both 
in  figures.  Thus:  “Deaths  for  the  week  numbered  75, 
as  against  105  the  preceding  week.” 

Spell  out  numbered  streets  up  to  100,  as  North  Ninth 
street.  Eighty-first  street,  East  107th  street. 

Spell  out  numbers  of  military  organizations  up  to  100, 
as  Fifteenth  Infantry,  Seventy-ninth  Division,  446  Field 
Artillery. 

Hyphenate  thirty-two ,  one-fourth,  etc.,  but  not  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  similar  forms. 

Spell  out  all  numbers,  no  matter  how  high,  beginning  a 
sentence  in  ordinary  reading  matter.  Thus :  “Three  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-seven  were  killed.” — “Ten-year-old  John 
was  there.”  If  spelling  out  a  long  number  would  make 
the  sentence  cumbersome,  recast  the  sentence. 

Number  of  more  than  three  figures  are  pointed  ofif  with 
commas,  as  1,426  men,  $3,456,749.78.  Exceptions  are  years, 
street  numbers  license  numbers,  telephone  numbers,  etc-, 
as  1918,  1004  Delmar  avenue,  City  Ordinance  4555. 

Spell  out  such  round  numbers  as  three  or  four  hundred, 
nearly  a  thousand,  half  million.  But  use  figures  unless  the 
number  is  plainly  indefinite. 

270 


STYLE  BOOK 


271 


Use  figures  for  sums  of  money,  as  $5,  $1.87,  unless  the 
sum  is  obviously  indefinite,  as  about  a  hundred  dollars, 
millions  of  dollars.  Do  not  use  needless  ciphers,  as  in 
$5.00.  Write  it  $5. 

When  the  sum  is  in  cents,  use  figures,  with  cents  spelled 
out,  as  10  cents,  5  cents.  Do  not  use  penny  for  cent. 

Dimensions  are  in  figures  only  when  two  or  more  are 
given.  Thus :  A  tower  fifty  feet  high,  a  street  ten  blocks 
long;  but  a  lot  70  by  100  feet.  Write  by,  not  x.  Where 
a  number  of  single  dimensions  are  given  in  describing 
one  object,  figures  should  be  used,  as,  in  the  description  of 
battleship  armament :  Four  12-inch  guns,  six  8-inch  guns, 
four  6-pounders,  12-inch  plate. 

Do  not  let  one  number  written  in  figures  follow  another 
with  only  a  comma  between,  if  there  is  any  possibility  of 
confusion.  Recast  the  sentence  if  necessary  to  avoid  such 
a  construction  as  this :  “Of  the  324,  168  have  already 
been  obtained.”  The  space  following  the  comma  is  not 
always  a  sufficient  safeguard. 

Spell  out  references  to  particular  decades,  as  the  nineties 
(no  apostrophe).  But  a  ’49-er. 

Spell  out  numbers  of  centuries,  sessions  of  Congress, 
political  divisions  and  all  similar  terms  which  are  less  than 
100,  as  twentieth  century  (lower-case),  Fifty-fourth  Con¬ 
gress,  First  Ward,  Second  Congressional  District. 

Use  figures  in  matter  of  a  statistical  or  tabular  nature. 

Use  figures  for  ages,  as  71  years  old.  This  form  is  pre¬ 
ferred  to  “aged  71  years.”  Hyphenate  the  compound  ad¬ 
jective  form,  as  a  3-year-old  girl. 

Use  figures  in  giving  time,  as  10  o’clock,  10  a.  m.  Use 
the  colon  between  hour  and  minutes,  as  7:30.  Never  use 
needless  ciphers,  as  in  7 :00. 

Use  figures  for  per  cents,  as  10  per  cent.  Make  per  cent 


272 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


two  words ;  no  period  after  it.  Write  one-half  of  1  per 
cent,  but  6)4  per  cent.  Percentage  is  one  word. 

Use  figures  for  street  numbers,  as  10  West  Broadway, 
104  North  Ninth  street.  A  is  added  to  a  number  without 
a  space,  101 A  West  Broadway. 

Use  figures  for  degrees  of  temperature,  except  in  cases 
typified  by  the  following  example :  “The  thermometer  stood 
at  40,  a  drop  of  four  degrees  ” 

Use  figures  for  dates,  as  January  14,  and  spell  out  the 
names  of  months  except  in  datelines.  Don’t  write  January 
14th.  However,  the  14th,  Monday  the  14th,  are  permissible 
when  it  would  be  awkward  to  use  January  14.  In  such 
cases  write  2d,  3d,  not  2nd,  3rd.  Spell  out  the  number  in 
Fourth  of  July. 

Be  certain  your  arithmetic  is  correct.  If  your  story  in¬ 
cludes  a  column  of  figures  and  the  total,  make  sure  that 
the  figures  given  will  actually  make  that  total.  If  you 
say  that  40  per  cent:  of  a  sum  has  been  raised,  prove  to 
yourself  that  the  actual  figures,  when  you  give  them,  are 
really  40  per  cent  of  the  total.  If  you  say  that  six  directors 
were  elected,  count  the  names  to  make  sure  they  are  not 
five  or  seven.  In  few  cases  is  it  easier  for  the  reader  to 
detect  errors  than  in  figures,  and  few  kinds  of  errors  are 
more  likely  to  bring  sarcastic  letters  to  the  editor.  A  copy 
reader  editing  a  story  containing  figures  should  never  pass 
over  them  without  proving  their  accuracy,  if  they  are  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  make  this  possible. 

Use  figures  for  calibers,  as  a  revolver  of  .22  caliber. 

Use  figures  for  betting  odds,  as  10  to  7,  2  to  1. 

Use  figures  for  votes,  as  Williams,  34  ;  Jones  17. 

Use  figures  for  athletic  records  and  scores,  as  a  pole- 
vault  of  10  feet  2  inches  (no  comma  after  feet)  ;  Missouri 
3,  Kansas  0. 


TITLES 


Never  use  Mr.  when  the  Christian  name  or  initials  are 
given.  This  rule  applies  to  society  news  as  well  as  general 
news.  An  exception  is  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Smith ,  which 
is  preferred  to  James  Smith  and  wife. 

Mr.  may  or  may  not  be  used  when  only  the  surname  is 
given.  Newspaper  usuage  varies  widely  in  this  respect, 
some  papers  barring  the  title  altogether.  The  writer  must 
be  guided  by  his  feeling  of  appropriateness  in  each  case. 
To  use  extreme  examples,  one  would  naturally  give  the 
title  to  a  man  of  distinction,  as  Mr.  Taft,  but  not  to  a  man 
on  trial  for  beating  his  wife.  However,  it  must  not  be 
understood  that  the  omission  of  Mr.  necessarily  implies 
lack  of  respect,  for  the  title  is  often  omitted  in  naming 
men  in  public  life.  We  speak  of  Washington  and  Lincoln 
more  naturally  than  of  Mr.  Washington  and  Mr.  Lincoln. 

Use  Mrs.  before  the  name  of  a  married  woman;  Miss 
before  that  of  an  unmarried  woman.  The  plural  Misses  may 
be  used,  but  not  Mesdames.  Repeat  Mrs.  if  necessary. 

Do  not  use  Esq.  after  a  name. 

Do  not  use  Honorable  as  a  title,  unless  it  is  a  title  be¬ 
stowed  by  Great  Britain. 

When  used  before  the  full  name  (as  William  Smith  or 
W.  K.  Smith)  titles  are  generally  abbreviated;  they  are 
spelled  out  when  used  before  the  surname  only.  This  ap¬ 
plies  only  to  titles  that  have  well-recognized  abbreviations. 
Among  the  titles  that  are  not  to  be  abbreviated  are  gov¬ 
ernor,  lieutenant-governor,  senator,  representative,  super¬ 
intendent,  principal  and  president,  although  governor  and 

273 


18 


274 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


lieutenant-governor  may  be  abbreviated  in  headlines  when 
used  with  a  name.  (See  “Abbreviation.”) 

Reverend  as  a  title  should  always  be  preceded  by  the,  as 
the  Rev.  William  Brown,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Brown,  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Brown  (if  he  has  a  doctor’s  degree). 
Abbreviate  before  the  full  name ;  spell  out  and  use  Mr. 
(or  Doctor )  before  the  surname  only.  Usually,  however, 
after  the  full  form  has  once  been  used  in  the  story,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  Mr.  Brown  or  Doctor  Brown. 

Most  Reverend  as  a  title  as  applied  to  an  archbishop; 
Right  Reverend  to  a  bishop,  abbot  or  monsignor;  Very 
Reverend  to  a  dean  (of  a  religious  sect),  vicar-general, 
president  of  a  seminary  or  college  superior  of  a  religious 
house,  canon,  prior,  etc. 

Use  Father  or  the  Reverend  Father  as  the  title  of  Catholic 
priests.  Do  not  abbreviate  Father. 

Do  not  use  Master  in  referring  to  a  boy. 

Don’t  use  an  unwieldy  title  preceding  a  name,  as  Keeper 
of  the  Grand  Seal  John  Smith.  Make  it  John  Smith,  keep¬ 
er  of  the  grand  seal. 

Write  Secretary  Baker  of  the  War  Department ;  or  New¬ 
ton  D.  Baker ,  Secretary  of  War;  but  not  Secretary  of  War 
Baker.  Secretary  Baker  is  suffiicent  after  the  first  ref¬ 
erence.  ,  , 

Don’t  use  a  man’s  business  or  trade  as  a  title,  as  Grocer 
Smith,  Carpenter  Jones. 

Do  not  write  Dr.  James  Smith ,  D.  D.  The  Dr.  is  Suf¬ 
ficient. 

Do  not  use  periods  after  diminutives  of  Christian  names, 
as  Tom,  Dan,  Ben,  Joe,  Sam,  etc.,  and  do  not  quote. 
(See  “Abbrevation.”)  Nicknames  such  as  “Fatty,”  “Cap,” 
etc.,  are  to  be  used  sparingly.  Avoid  them  unless  the  story 
is  obviously  such  as  to  warrant  their  use,  or  unless  they 


ST'i'LE  BOOK 


275 


are  needed  to  identify  the  persons  named.  In  connection 
with  names  follow  this  style:  J.  P.  (“Puny”)  Bluck. 
Greater  license  is  allowed  in  sport  reports,  but  even  there 
the  use  of  nicknames  must  not  be  carried  to  an  extreme. 
Under  no  circumstances  may  an  offensive  nickname  be  used. 


QUOTATION. 


Be  sure  to  end  quoted  matter  with  quotation  marks. 
Where  a  quotation  is  broken  into  paragraphs,  put  quotation 
marks  at  the  beginning  of  each  paragraph  and  the  end  of 
the  last  paragraph. 

Quote  interviews  and  dialogues,  except  when  the  name  of 
the  speaker  is  given  first,  as  in  a  symposium,  or  the  words 
Question  and  Answer  (or  Q.  and  A.)  are  used,  as  in 
reports  of  testimony.  Use  em  dashes,  as  below : 

Mayor  James  M.  Gordon — I  believe  the  ordinance  should 
be  revised. 

William  Jones — I  am  not  in  favor  of  revision  at  this 
time. 

Q. — Did  you  see  the  defendant  in  the  room? 

A —I  did. 

Do  not  quote  extracts  that  are  indented  or  set  in  different 
type  from  the  rest  of  the  story. 

In  quoting  verse,  unless  the  quoted  matter  is  set  in 
different  type  from  the  context,  put  quotation  marks  at 
beginning  of  each  stanza  and  at  the  end  of  the  last  stanza. 
If  the  quotation  is  less  than  a  stanza,  place  quotation  marks 
at  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  quoted  matter. 

Use  single  marks  to  inclose  a  quotation  within  a  quota¬ 
tion.  Use  double  marks  for  a  third  quotation,  single  for 
a  fourth  and  so  on.  Thus : 

a.  “Let  us  not  act  too  soon,”  said  Senator  Brown. 

b.  “Remember  the  proverb,  ‘Haste  makes  waste.’  Let  us  not 
act  too  soon,”  said  Senator  Brown. 

c.  “Yes,”  said  the  witness.  “Senator  Brown’s  words  were: 
‘Remember  the  proverb,  “Haste  makes  waste.”  Let  us  not  act  too 
soon.’  ” 


276 


STYLE  BOOK 


277 


d.  The  report  in  a  Washington  newspaper  includes  the  following: 
“Taking  of  testimony  began  today. 

“‘Did  you  hear  the  conversation?’  asked  the  lawyer. 

“‘Yes,’  replied  the  witness.  Senator  Brown’s  words  were:  “Re¬ 
member  the  proverb,  ‘Haste  makes  waste.’  Let  us  not  act  too 
soon.”  ’  ” 

In  editing  clipped  matter,  the  whole  of  which  is  to  be 
quoted,  do  not  fail  to  change  double  quotation  marks  in 
the  body  of  the  clipping  to  single,  and  single  to  double. 
Do  not  fail  to  put  quotation  marks  at  the  beginning  of  each 
paragraph,  especially  if  you  mark  new  paragraphs,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  clipping. 

Don’t  expect  a  free  use  of  quotation  marks  to  justify 
slang  and  other  faulty  diction.  If  you  hesitate  to  use  a 
word  without  quoting  it,  the  chances  are  that  you  had 
better  not  use  it  at  all. 

Quote  the  full  titles  of  plays,  paintings,  statuary,  operas, 
songs,  lectures,  sermons,  toasts,  mottoes,  articles  in  news¬ 
papers,  etc.  Be  sure  to  include  the  in  the  quotation  if  it  is 
part  of  the  title,  as  “The  Star-Spangled  Banner.” 

Quote  the  full  titles  of  books,  except  such  books  as  the 
Bible,  the  Koran,  the  Iliad,  the  Aeneid,  dictionaries,  en¬ 
cyclopedias,  etc. 

Do  not  quote  the  names  of  characters  in  books  or  plays, 
as  Barbara  in  Locke’s  “JafTery,”  Shylock  in  “The  Merchant 
of  Venice.” 

Do  not  quote  the  names  of  newspapers  and  periodicals,  as 
the  New  York  Times,  the  Independent,  the  Bookman,  the 
Columbia  Evening  Missourian  (lower-case  the). 

Quote  words  or  letters  used  as  in  the  following  sentences : 
The  adjective  “beautiful”  is  out  of  place  here.  Judgment 
should  be  spelled  without  the  “e.”  Do  not  quote  such 


278 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


words  or  letters  if  they  are  set  in  italics.  Neither  quotation 
marks  nor  italics  are  needed  in  lists  or  tables. 

Quote  words  and  phrases  used  ironically  or  in  some  other 
than  the  true  significance.  Thus :  His  “mansion,”  I  found, 
was  a  three-room  cottage. 

Do  not  quote  drys  or  wets,  referring  to  prohibitionists 
or  antiprohibitionists. 

Do  not  quote  diminutives,  such  as  Tom,  Dick,  Bill,  etc. 
(See  “Abbreviation”  and  “Titles.”) 

Do  not  quote  the  names  of  balloons,  sleeping  cars,  ves¬ 
sels,  horses,  dogs,  cattle. 


COMPOUNDS. 


Use  the  hyphenated  compound  only  when  it  is  clearly  indicated. 
Consult  Webster’s  New  International  Dictionary  in  cases  not  covered 
by  the  following  rules. 

Let  meaning  be  your  first  guide  in  compounding.  Al¬ 
ways  use  one  of  the  two  compound  forms  (hyphenated  or 
solid-word)  whenever  the  meaning  to  be  expressed  is  dif¬ 
ferent  from  that  conveyed  by  the  words  used  separately. 
Thus,  a  great  grandfather  is  quite  different  from  a  great¬ 
grandfather;  a  wild  cat  from  a  wildcat.  W atermelons  at  10 
cents  a  piece  (when  sold  by  the  slice)  would  be  much  more 
expensive  than  at  10  cents  apiece  (when  sold  a  whole  melon 
at  a  time).  Other  examples  are  numerous. 

(a)  Distinguish  between  every  one  and  everyone, 
any  one  and  anyone ,  some  one  and  someone.  The  two- 
word  forms  indicate  individuals  of  specified  groups 
while  the  solid-word  forms  are  vaguely  inclusive.  In 
addition,  the  solid-word  forms  almost  invariably  refer 
to  persons,  while  the  two-word  forms  may  or  may 
not.  Thus :  “I  had  twenty  men  listed,  and  by  night 
I  had  seen  every  one.” — “Here  are  three  apples ;  you 
may  have  any  one” — C(Some  one  of  these  three  rules 
will  apply.”  To  say  “By  night  I  had  seen  everyone 
would  mean  everyone  on  earth.  Anyone  would  hardly 
mean  apples,  nor  would  someone  be  applied  to  rules. 

(b)  Make  the  same  distinction  between  every  body 
and  everybody,  any  body  and  anybody,  some  body 
and  somebody.  When  the  two-word  form  is  used, 
body  retains  its  separate  meaning.  Thus :  Every  body 

279 


280 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


in  the  universe  attracts  every  other  body/’ — “Any  body 
of  men  may  form  an  organization.” — “They  camped 
on  the  shores  of  some  body  of  water,  but  could  not 
learn  its  name.” 

(c)  Distinguish  between  some  time  and  sometime. 
“The  play  will  be  given  sometime  next  week.” — “The 
play  will  be  given  at  some  time  to  be  selected  later.” 
— “ Some  time  elasped  before  he  returned.” 

Note:  The  pronunciation  of  a  word  or  series  of  words  fre¬ 
quently  will  aid  in  determining  whether  a  compound  form  o*r  the 
separate-word  form  should  be  used.  If  one  syllable  is  stressed,  and 
the  others  accented  only  secondarily  if  at  all,  the  chances  are  that 
a  compound  form  should  be  used.  If  a  syllable  in  each  word  is 
stressed,  it  is  likely  that  the  words  still  retain  their  individual¬ 
ity  and  should  be  written  as  separate  words.  Pronunciation  is  un¬ 
reliable,  however,  as  a  guide  to  the  use  or  omission  of  the  hyphen 
in  a  compound  word. 

The  shorter  the  words,  the  more  likely  they  are  to  be 
combined  without  the  hyphen,  even  if  the  meaning  is  the 
same  as  that  expressed  by  the  separate  words.  This  ap¬ 
plies  especially  to  compound  of  only  two  syllables. 

(a)  Write  today,  tonight,  and  tomorrow  without  the 
hyphen.  Make  cannot  one  word. 

(b)  In  general,  compound  the  following  words 
without  the  hyphen  when  the  prefix  is  of  only  one 
syllable,  and  do  not  compound  at  all  when  the  prefix 

is  of  more  than  one  syllable : 

Word  Example  Example 


house 

courthouse 

apartment  house 

room 

clubroom 

dining  room 

bird 

catbird 

mocking  bird 

boat 

rowboat 

motor  boat 

book 

bookcase 

reference  book 

STYLE  BOOK 


281 


Word 

Example 

Example 

case 

textbook 

packing  case 

fish 

goldfish 

tuna  fish 

load 

carload 

wagon  load 

ship 

warship 

training  ship 

shop 

workshop 

blacksmith  shop 

track 

racetrack 

running  track 

yard 

shipyard 

navy  yard 

Some  exceptions  to  this  rule  are : 

Circuit  Court  room, 

Commercial  Club  rooms,  frame  house,  brick  house, 
White  House,  cuttlefish,  battleship,  back  yard,  front 
yard. 

(c)  Compounds  of  eye  are  written  without  the  hyphen, 
as  eyewitness,  eyeball,  eyelash. 

(d)  Fold  is  joined  without  the  hyphen  to  a  word 
of  one  syllable,  but  is  hyphenated  when  joined  to  a 
word  of  two  or  more  syllables,  as  threefold,  tenfold, 
hundred-fold,  seventy-fold. 

Use  the  hyphen  in  any  compound  word  which  is  so 
long  or  unusual  as  to  be  confusing  otherwise,  as  post¬ 
revolutionary,  extra-judicial,  ultra-fashionable. 

Ex  preceding  a  title  takes  the  hyphen,  as  ex-Presi- 
dent  Taft. 

But  former  President  Taft  is  the  preferred  form.  Do  not 
capitalize  ex  or  former. 

Hyphenate  such  combinations  as  vice-president,  vice- 
consul,  governor-general,  Surgeon-general,  lieutenant-gener¬ 
al,  brigadier-general,  postmaster-general,  attorney-general, 
commander-in-chief,  lieutenant-colonel,  sergeant-major, 
sergeant-at-arms,  etc.,  but  do  not  hyphenate  prosecuting  at¬ 
torney,  first  lieutenant,  second  lieutenant,  deputy  chief,  first 
deputy,  etc.  Capitalize  all  the  principal  elements  of  such 
titles  when  preceding  a  name,  whether  or  not  the  hyphen  is 


282 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


used,  as  Vice-Consul  Smith,  Brigadier-General  Henry,  serge- 
ant-at-Arms  White,  First  Lieutenant  Jones.  Capitalize  the 
same  way  in  headlines. 

Observe  the  following  forms :  schoolmaster,  school- 
ma’am,  schoolroom,  schoolhouse,  schoolboy,  schoolgirl ; 
school  board,  school  children,  high  school,  ward  school, 
school-teacher,  school-teaching.  , 

Observe  the  following  rules  with  regard  to  prefixes : 

(a)  Such  prefixes  as  demi,  semi,  bi,  tri,  co,  pre,  re, 
sub,  super,  inter,  intra,  ante,  anti  and  post  are  usually  joined 
to  a  word  without  the  hyphen,  unless  (1)  the  prefix  ends 
in  a  vowel  and  is  followed  by  the  same  vowel,  unless  (2) 
the  prefix  is  followed  by  a  proper  name  or  unless  (3) 
the  hyphen  is  needed  to  distinguish  the  word  from  another 
of  different  meaning.  Examples,  showing  exceptions  num¬ 
bered  as  above: 

Without  hyphen. 
demigod 
semiannual 
biennial 
correspondent 
coeducational 
Prerequisite 
reform 
readjust 
recover 
subcommittee 
intercollegiate 
intramural 
antechamber 
antitrust 
antiseptic 

Some  further  exceptions  are  based  on  common  usage, 
(b)  Compounds  of  over  and  under  are  usually  print- 


postgraduate 
With  hyphen. 

semi-indurated  (1) 
co-respondent  (3) 
co-operate  (1) 
pre-empt  (1) 
pre-Raphaelite  (2) 
re-form — to  form  again  (3) 
re-echo  ( 1 ) 

re-cover — to  cover  again  (3) 
intra-atomic  (1) 
ante-Christian  (2) 
anti-imperialist  (1) 

anti-Gallic  (2) 
post-Darwinian  (2) 


STYLE  BOOK 


283 


ed  as  one  word,  as  underclassmen,  overbold,  underfed, 
undersecretary. 

Counter  as  a  prefix  usually  does  not  take  the  hyphen 
unless  joined  to  a  word  beginning  with  r,  as  conteract, 
counterbalance  (no  hyphen),  counter-revolution. 
Hyphenate  nouns  that  express  a  double  occupation,  as 
poet-artist. 

Compounds  of  half  and  quarter  are  usually  hyphenated, 
as  half-dollar  (but  half  a  dollar),  half-past,  quarter-mile 
(but  solid  word  in  quartermaster). 

Hyphenate  compounds  of  numbers,  as  thirty-two,  forty- 
four  (but  one  hundred  and  one). 

Hyphenate  fractions,  as  one-fourth,  three-sevenths. 
Words  formed  with  the  suffix  wide  usually  take  the 
hyphen,  as  state-wide,  city-wide. 

Hyphenate  such  nouns  as  passer-by,  runner-up. 

Elect  is  joined  to  a  title  with  the  hyphen,  as  Governor- 
elect  Smith.  Do  not  capitalize  elect. 

COMPOUNDING  BECAUSE  OF  CONSTRUCTION. 

Some  words  not  ordinarily  compounded  are  joined  when  used 
in  certain  constructions.  Note  the  following  cases: 

Two  or  more  words  combined  into  one  adjective  preced¬ 
ing  a  noun  should  be  hyphenated,  as  near-by  building,  never- 
to-be-forgotten  event,  well-known  man,  first-class  invest¬ 
ment,  English-speaking  peoples,  up-to-date,  stlyes,  4-year- 
old  boy,  house-to-house  canvass  (Note  exceptions  in  Rules 
16  and  17.)  Do  not  hyphenate  such  combinations  when 
they  follow  the  noun,  as  a  building  near  by,  an  event  never 
to  be  forgotten,  a  man  well  known  in  the  city,  a  canvass 
from  house  to  house. 


284 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Do  not  compound  an  adverb  ending  in  ly  and  a  participle, 
even  when  combined  as  a  modifying  element,  as  freshly 
painted  house. 

Do  not  compound  proper  names  consisting  of  more  than 
one  word,  even  when  used  as  a  modifying  element,  as  Old 
English  lettering,  Civil  War  days. 

Nouns  such  as  toss-up,  line-up,  kick-off,  strike-out, 
should  be  compounded,  usually  when  the  hyphen,  as  in  the 
examples  already  mentioned,  but  occasionally  as  solid  words, 
as  in  walkout,  lockout,  tryout,  workout.  When  used  as 
verbs,  they  are  devided,  as,  to  toss  up,  to  kick  off,  to  strike 
out,  to  work  out. 

The  use  of  a  modifying  term  sometimes  separates  the 
elements  of  a  compound  word.  To  indicate  that  a  shoe¬ 
maker  makes  wooden  shoes  you  would  call  him  a  wooden- 
shoe  maker,  not  wooden  shoe-maker.  The  latter  would  be 
absurb.  Similarly,  write  young  school-teacher ,  but  high- 
school  teacher.  The  young  refers  to  the  teacher,  while 
the  high  refers  to  the  school.  A  high  school-teacher  might 
be  a  school  teacher  in  a  balloon. 

MISCELLANEOUS  PREFERENCES 

SPELLING 

The  following  lists  contain  both  words  covered  by  the  foregoing 
sections  and  others  for  which  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  formu¬ 
late  rules. 


airship 

anteroom 

armchair 

backache 

background 


Continuous  Compounds. 


bankbook 

bartender 

baseball 

bathtub 

bedclothes 


bedfellow 

beforehand 

birthday 

birthmark 

birthplace 


STYLE  BOOK 


blackmail 

bloodhound 

bloodthristy 

bookcase 

bookkeeping 

bookworm 

breastworks 

bricklayer 

broadcloth 

buckshot 

bulldog; 

bullfight 

buttermilk 

bystander 

candlestick 

cannot 

cardboard 

caretaker 

carload 

catchpenny 

catchword 

cesspool 

childbirth 

churchgoer 

clockwork 

cloudburst 

commonplace 

cottonseed 

countryside 

courthouse 

crowbar 

cutworm 

daredevil 

daytime 

deadfall 

deathlike 

doorway 

downstate 

downtown 


downtrodden 

drawbridge 

dreamland 

dressmaker 

driveway 

drumstick 

dugout 

dyestuff 

earmark 

earring 

facsimile 

fatherland 

figurehead 

firearms 

fireplace 

fireproof 

flagpole 

flagship 

foodstuff 

football 

foothill 

foothold 

footnote 

footprint 

forefather 

foresight 

forthcoming 

fretwork 

gadfly 

gamekeeper 

gatekeeper 

gentlefolk 

gingerbread 

glassware 

Godspeed 

goldenrod 

goldsmith 

goodby 

grapefruit 


groundwork 

guesswork 

gunpowder 

hailstone 

hailstorm 

hairbrush 

hairpin 

halfway 

handbill 

handbook 

handwriting 

haphazard 

hardware 

hatband 

headache 

headquarters 

heartbroken 

heirloom 

helpmeet 

hidebound 

homesick 

honeymoon 

horseback 

horsepower 

horsewhip 

hothouse 

housebreaker 

housetop 

iceberg 

inasmuch 

inborn 

indoor 

inkstand 

interscholastic 

ironclad 

keepsake 

keyboard 

kindergarSen 

kneecap 


2 8d  THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


lacrosse  (game) 

ladybird 

landlady 

landlubber 

landscape 

lawbreaker 

lawmaker 

lawsuit 

lifelong 

lifetime 

limestone 

lock  j  aw 

lukewarm 

madcap 

mainland 

manhole 

manslaughter 

mantlepiece 

masterpiece 

meantime 

meanwhile 

merrymaker 

midday 

midsummer 

midway 

midwinter 

moonlight 

muskmelon 

nearsighted 

neckwear 

needlework 

newcomer 

newfangled 

newspaper 

nightshirt 

nightime 

northeast 

notebook 

nowadays 


oatmeal 

offhand 

offset 

offspring 

oftentimes 

oilcloth 

outdoor 

painstaking 

pancake 

password 

payroll 

peacemaker 

percentage 

piecework 

playbill 

playground 

polecat 

postoffice 

praiseworthy 

proofreader 

quicklime 

railroad 

railway 

rainstorm 

redskin 

ringleader 

roadside 

rosebud 

roughshod 

rowboat 

runabout 

safeguard 

salesgirl 

sandpaper 

saucepan 

sawmill 

scapegoat 

schoolroom 

seacoast 


setback 

sheepskin 

shirtwaist 

shoemaker 

shoplifter 

shorthand 

sidewalk 

sightseer 

silverware 

skyscraper 

smallpox 

snowball 

southeast 

speedway 

sportsmanlike 

springtime 

standpoint 

statecraft 

stoneware 

stronghold 

sunbeam 

sunbonnet 

sweepstakes 

switchboard 

taxpayer 

teacup 

teammate 

teaspoon  ful 

textbook 

theatergoer 

thoroughgoing 

thunderstorm 

tiptoe 

tollgate 

tombstone 

toothpick 

touchdown 

townsfolk 

townspeople 


STYLE  BOOK 


287 


typewriter 

waiscoat 

wildcat 

undergraduate 

warlike 

windmill 

upperclassman 

watchmaker 

workaday 

upstate 

watermelon 

workman 

uptown 

waterworks 

workshop 

viewpoint 

wheelbarrow 

Hyphenated  Compounds. 

aid-de-camp 

great-aunt 

self-evident 

Argus-like 

great-grandfather 

self-respect 

bas-relief 

half-dollar 

sergeant-at-arms 

bird’s-eye 

half-truth 

6-year-old  girl 

brand-new 

hero-worship 

so-called 

bull’s-eye 

hundVed-fold 

son-in-law 

business-like 

ill-kept  house 

state-wide 

by-law 

jiu-jitsu 

stop-over 

by-product 

leg-o’-mutton 

subject-matter 

city-wide 

line-up  (noun) 

tam-o’-shanter 

fcommander-in-chief 

man-of-war 

tete-a-tete 

co-respondent 

master-stroke 

trans-Missouri 

court-martial 

mind-reader 

trans- Pacific  (but 

cross-reference 

mother-in-law 

transatlantic) 

cross-section 

mother-love 

two- thirds 

editor-in-chief 

nation-wide 

ultra-conservative 

English-speaking 

nature-study 

ultra-intellectual 

ex-governor 

non-Catholic 

vice-president 

father-in-law 

office-holder 

week-end 

father-love 

one-horse  plow 

well-being 

fellow-servant 

pan-hellenic 

well-nigh 

fleur-de-lis 

pan- Germanism 

well-known  man 

folk-lore 

passer-by 

well-wisher 

’49- er 

policy-holder 

woman-like 

fountain-head 

quarter -mile 

world-weary 

governor-elect 

school-teacher 

Separate  Words 

X-ray 

apartment  house 

ball  player 

bucket  shop 

back  yard 

birth  rate 

business  man 

288 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


buzz  saw 
camp  meeting 
common  sense 
copy  reader 
day  laborer 
death  rate 
dining  room 
district  attorney 
electric  car 


feast  day 
front  yard 


one’s  self 
per  cenf 
pro  rata 

prosecuting  attorney 
roll  call 
saloon  keeper 
station  master 
street  car 
Sunday  school 


high  school 
La  Follette 
lamb’s  wool 
live  stock 
mass  meeting 
navy  yard 
newspaper  man 


Sport  Terms. 


Baseball — first  base,  second  base,  third  base,  shortstop;  right  field, 
left  field,  center  field,  outfield,  infield ;  first  baseman,  second  base- 
man,  etc.;  right  fielder,  etc.,  outfielder,  infielder;  two-base  hit, 
three-base  hit,  sacrifice  hit,  home  run ;  pinch-hitter ;  hit-and-run 
play.  The  score  was  4  to  1.  Defeated  by  a  4-to-l  score. 

Football — left  end,  right  end;  left  tackle,  right  tackle;  left  guard, 
right  guard;  center;  left  halfback,  right  halfback,  fullback,  quarter¬ 
back;  touchdown  (solid  word),  field  goal;  head  linesman. 

Basketball — left  forward,  right  forward;  left  guard,  right  guard; 
center. 

Track — 100-yard  dash,  200-yard  dash,  440-yard  dash,  or  quarter- 
mile  dash,  880-yard  run  or  half-mile  run,  mile  run,  two-mile  run, 
120-yard  high  hurdles,  220-yard  low  hurdles,  high  jump,  broad 
jump,  discus-throw,  shot-put,  pole-vault. 

Prize  Fighting — lightweight,  feather-weight,  welter-weight,  mid¬ 
dle-weight,  bantam-weight,  heavy-weight. 


SPELLING. 


In  cases  not  covered  by  this  deskbook,  consult  Webster’s  New 
International  Dictionary.  If  more  than  one  spelling  is  recognized 
by  the  dictionary  as  being  in  good  use,  give  preference  to  the  shorter 
and  simpler,  or,  if  there  is  no  choice  in  this  regard,  give  preference 
to  the  form  given  first  in  the  dictionary. 

The  newspaper  tendency  toward  the  shorter  and  simpler  of  dis¬ 
puted  forms  has  asserted  itself  in  the  adoption  of  simplified  spelling 
for  a  few  words  by  a  growing  number  of  newspapers.  Most  im¬ 
portant  of  these  words  are  the  twelve  adopted  by  the  National 
Educational  Association:  tho,  altho,  thoro,  thorofare,  thru,  thruout, 
program,  catalog,  decalog,  prolog,  pedagog,  demagog.  These  forms 
have  also  been  adopted  by  the  University  of  Missouri  for  use  in 
its  official  publications. 

Most  newspapers,  however,  use  the  longer  forms  of  most  of  these 
words.  The  school  of  journalism,  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
given  in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  section,  uses  the  simplified  forms 
for  only  program  and  catalog,  writing  the  other  words  thus :  though, 
although,  thorough,  thoroughfare,  through,  throughout,  decalogue, 
prologue,  pedagogue,  demagogue. 

With  words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  a  final  consonant 
preceded  by  a  vowel  is  usually  not  doubled  on  adding  a  suffix, 
except  when  the  final  syllable  is  accented,  as  traveler,  travel¬ 
ing,  kidnaped,  marvelous,  jewelry,  benefited;  but  hotter 
(from  hot :  one  syllable),  planned  (from  plan :  one  syl¬ 
lable),  beginning  (from  begin:  accent  on  final  syllable), 
abettor  (from  abet:  accent  on  final  syllable). 

Spell  toward,  backward,  forzvard,  afterward,  upward, 
homeward  and  similar  words  without  final  .y. 

Use  among  instead  of  amongst;  while  instead  of  zvhilst. 

Use  indorse,  inclose,  and  inquire  rather  than  endorse 
enclose,  enquire.  Use  enforce ,  but  reinforce. 

289 


290 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Besides  is  the  adverb ;  beside,  the  preposition. 

Use  the  er  form  of  ending  theater,  caliber,  center,  etc. 
But  euchre. 

Use  or,  not  our,  in  favor,  color,  rumor,  demeanor,  labor, 
vigor,  fervor,  etc. 

Write  insanitary,  not  unsanitary. 

Omit  final  e  from  antitoxin,  glycerin,  gelatin,  paraffin, 
etc.  But  quinine. 

Use  e  instead  of  the  dipthong  x  in  such  words  as  es¬ 
thetic,  anesthesia. 

Spell  whisky  without  an  e. 

Write  practice,  not  practise. 

Write  defense,  offense,  pretense. 

The  plural  of  money  is  moneys. 

Judgment,  acknowledgment,  lodgment. 

Skillful,  willful. 

Use  Serbia,  Serbian,  instead  of  Servia,  Serznan. 

Use  no  space  after  Me,  as  McDonnell,  McLeod,  etc. 

Write  airplane,  air  dome;  not  aeroplane,  aero  dome. 

Write  Bolsheviki  (plural  noun),  Bolshevist  (singular 
noun  and  adjective;  preferable  to  Bolshevik) ,  Bolshevism 
(not  Bolshevikism) .  See  “Capitalization.” 


Miscellaneous. 

The  following  list  contains  both  words  of  disputed  spelling  (as 
criticise )  and  words  on  which  the  authorities  agree,  but  which  are 
frequently  misspelled  (as  consensus).  Students  will  be  expected 
to  observe  this  style: 


abettor 

accessory 

accommodate 

accumulate 

adviser 


advisory 

Aegean 

aeronautics 

aid-de-camp 

airplane 


airdrome 

Alleghany  (moun¬ 
tains) 

Allegheny  (river) 
all  right 


STYLE  BOOK 


291 


already 

blond  (adj.) 

Chile 

Alsace-Lorraine 

blonde  (noun) 

chock-full 

aluminum 

bluing 

cigarette 

alumna 

bogey  (in  golf) 

Cincinnati 

(feminine  singular) 

boll  weevil 

cleek  (in  golf) 

alumnae 

bookkeeper 

clew 

(feminine  plural) 

Boonville  (Mo.) 

collectible 

Elumni 

Bosporus 

combated 

(masculine  plural) 

boulder 

connoisseur 

alumnus 

bouquet 

conscience’  sake 

(masculine  singu¬ 

brassie 

consensus 

lar) 

bric-a-brac 

courthouse 

ambassador 

Budapest 

cozy 

anemia 

Buenos  Aires 

crappie 

anesthetic 

burned 

criticise 

antitoxin 

bus  (omnibus) 

Dardanelles 

appall 

busses  (plural) 

data  (plural) 

apparatus 

calcimine 

decalogue 

apparel 

cancel 

deciduous 

appareled 

canceled 

defense 

apropos 

cannot 

demagogue 

archeology 

cantaloupe 

demagogy 

ascendant 

canvas  (cloth) 

develop 

ascendency 

canvass  (for  votes) 

development 

asparagus 

canyon 

dilettante 

auxiliary 

carburetor 

diphtheria 

ax 

carcass 

dirigible 

balloon 

Carrollton  (Mo.) 

discipline 

banana 

Caruthersville  (Mo.)  dishabille 

baptize 

catalog 

disheveled 

baritone 

catarrh 

disk 

baseball 

catechise 

dispatch 

basketball 

cauliflower 

distill 

battalion 

centimeter 

downstairs 

bazar 

chaperon 

downtown 

benefited 

charivari 

draft 

benefiting 

chauffeur 

draftsman 

biased 

check  (for  cheque) 

drier 

biplane 

chiffonier 

driest 

292  THE 

drought 

dryly- 

dueling 

duelist 

dullness 

dyeing  (coloring) 

dying  (expiring) 

Edinburg 

eleemosynary 

embarass 

employe 

encyclopedia 

enforce 

enroll 

enrollment 

envelop  (verb) 

envelope  (noun) 

Eskimo 

Eskimos 

exhibitor 

farther  (distance) 
feaze 

fiance  (man) 

fiancee  (woman) 

fiery 

Filipino 

fleur-de-lis 

flier 

football 

fulfill 

further  (in  addition) 

fusillade 

Gallipoli 

gantlet  (to  run  the) 

gauntlet  (glove) 

garage 

gaseous 

gasoline 

gauge 


PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


gayety 

gayly 

glycerin 

goodby 

gossiped 

gossiper 

graveled 

gray 

grewsome 
guarantee  (verb) 
guaranty  (noun) 
guerilla 
gypsy 
Haiti 
Haitian 
Hallowe’en 
harass 
hark 
Hawaii 
Hawaiian 
hemorrhage 
hindrance 
Hindu 
horsepower 
hypocrisy 
icing 

idiosyncrasy 

impanel 

impaneled 

imperiled 

imposter 

inasmuch 

inclose 

indict 

indispensable 

indorse 

initiate 

innocuous 

inoculate 


insanitary 

install 

installment 

instill 

intrench 

intrust 

I  O  U  (no  periods) 
its  (possessive  of  it) 
it’s  (it  is) 
jailer 
jeweler 
jewelry 
jimson  weed 
j  ingo 
jingoes 
jiu-jitsu 
Johns  Hopkins 
(university) 
judgment 

kafir  (not  kafir  corn) 

karat 

kerosene 

Khartum 

kidnaped 

kimono 

Koran 

Korea 

labeled 

laboratory 

laundered 

leg  gins 

lese  majesty 

libelous 

license 

lilies 

lily 

line  up  (verb) 
line-up  (noun) 
linotype 


STYLE  BOOK 


293 


loath  (reluctant) 

pageant 

rarefy 

loathe  (to  detest) 

parquet 

receive 

lose  (to  suffer  loss 

partisan 

reconnoissance 

luscious 

paraffin 

reconnoiter 

mamma 

parallel 

reinforce 

manageable 

payroll 

renaissance 

maneuver 

pedagogue 

repertoire 

mantel  (shelf) 

pedagogy 

restaurateur 

mantle  (covering) 

peddler 

reverie 

Marseillaise 

Peking 

rhythm 

marshal  (officer) 

Philippines 

ruble 

Marshall  (Mo.) 

picnic 

Rumania 

marveled 

picnicker 

sacrilegious 

marvelous 

Pittsburgh  (Pa.) 

St.  Louis 

meager 

Pittsburg  (Kan.) 

salable 

medieval 

pleaded  (past  tense  of  sauerkraut 

midweek 

plead) 

secede 

milk  cow 

plow 

separate 

misspell 

portiere 

Serbia 

Mohammed 

Porto  Rican 

sextet 

mold 

Porto  Rico 

Shakespeare 

moneys 

Portuguese 

Shakespearean 

moratorium 

postoffice 

shoeing 

mortgagor 

practice 

siege 

mussel  (shellfish) 

precede 

sirup 

mustache 

prerogative 

skeptic 

newspaper  man 

privilege 

skillful 

nickel 

procedure 

smooth  (verb) 

nitroglycerin 

program 

sobriquet 

noticeable 

prologue 

soccer  (football) 

nowadays 

prophecy  (noun) 

solos  (plural  of  solo) 

nuisance 

prophesy  (verb) 

souvenir 

occasionally 

putt  (in  golf) 

stanch 

occur 

pygmy 

stationary  (fixed) 

occurrence 

quarreled 

stationery 

oculist 

quartet 

(paper,  etc.) 

offense 

questionnaire 

statute  (image) 

one’s  self  (not  oneself)  quintet 

stature  (height) 

opportunity 

racket  (for  racquet)  statute  (law) 

294 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


stayed  (past  tense  of  Tolstoy 

vitreous 

stay) 

traveled 

vodka 

stereopticon 

traveler 

weasel 

strait-laced 

trolley 

weird 

subpoena 

twelfth 

Welsh  (pertaining  to 

Sudan 

tying 

Wales) 

supersede 

typify 

whir 

synonym 

until 

whisky 

taboo 

vaccinate 

Wilkes-Barre  (Pa.) 

theater 

vaccine 

willful 

thrash  (to  whip) 

vacuum 

woful 

thresh  (grain) 

vender 

woolen 

Tibet 

veranda 

worshiped 

till 

vermilion 

worshiper 

Tokio 

villian 

a 


PUNCTUATION. 


This  section  is  not  meant  to  be  a  complete  guide  to  punctuation. 
Its  purpose  is  merely  to  give  rules  and  suggestions  covering  points 
that  frequently  arise  in  the  writing  and  editing  of  news  copy.  For 
the  general  principles  of  punctuation,  which  are  the  same  for  all 
kinds  of  composition,  consult  any  standard  work  on  the  subject. 

The  Period. 

Do  not  use  period  after  per  cent. 

Do  not  use  period  after  nicknames,  as  Tom,  Sam,  etc. 

Do  not  use  periods  with  O  K  (past  O  K’d). 

Use  period  between  dollars  and  cents,  as  $1.25. 

Use  three  periods  separated  by  em  quads  to  denote  an 
omitted  passage.  Thus :  “The  first  thing  to  under¬ 
stand  ...  is  the  need  of  accuracy.”  If  one  or  more 
complete  lines  of  poetry  are  omitted,  insert  in  a  full  line 
of  periods  separated  by  two-em  quads. 

For  misuse  of  the  period,  see  “Four  Illiterate  Blunders”  at  the 
close  of  this  section. 


The  Comma. 

Distinguish  between  restrictive  (sometimes  caller  limit¬ 
ing  or  defining)  clauses  and  non-restrictive.  The  restric¬ 
tive  clause  is  necessary  to  define  the  term  it  modifies,  and 
consequently  is  too  closely  related  to  the  latter  to  be  set  off 
by  commas.  The  non-restrictive  clause  is  merely  an  added 
or  parenthetical  expression  concerning  a  term  which  does 
not  need  definition ;  so  the  clause  is  set  off  by  commas.  To 
test  whether  a  clause  is  restrictive  or  not,  omit  it  in  reading 
the  sentence.  If  the  meaning  is  not  changed  by  the  omis- 

295 


296 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


sion,  the  clause  is  non-restrictive  and  should  be  set  off  by 
commas. 

The  importance  of  this  distinction  may  be  observed  from 
the  following  sentences  containing  the  same  words  but 
expressing  different  thoughts : 

“The  juniors  of  the  college,  who  defied  the  faculty,  have 
been  expelled/’  (Non-restrictive.) 

“The  juniors  of  the  college  who  defied  the  faculty  have 
been  expelled.”  (Restrictive.) 

The  first  sentence  means  that  all  the  juniors  have  been 
expelled.  The  second  means  that  only  those  of  a  particular 
group — those  who  defied  the  faculty — have  been  expelled. 

In  general,  do  not  use  a  comma  before  and  in  such  a 
series  as  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry.  This  rule,  observed  by 
most  newspapers,  represents  the  only  vital  difference  be¬ 
tween  so-called  newspaper  punctuation  and  that  common¬ 
ly  taught  in  the  schools.  It  should  not  be  applied  when  a 
comma  is  needed  to  make  the  meaning  clear. 

Do  not  use  a  comma  between  two  clauses  of  a  brief 
compound  sentence  where  there  is  no  change  of  subject. 
Thus:  “He  went  to  the  store  and  bought  a  new  suit.” 
But:  “The  city  was  strongly  held  by  guns  and  infantry, 
and  the  British  force  therefore  withdrew  to  its  original 
bivouac.”  The  comma  is  needed  in  the  second  instance 
to  show  the  reader,  at  a  glance,  the  grammatical  relation 
of  the  words. 

Distinguish  between  alternative  or  and  oppositional  or. 
“John  or  Thomas  will  carry  the  message.”  ( Alternative  or; 
no  comma.) — “Indian  corn,  or  maize,  is  the  chief  product 
of  the  state.”  (Ap  positional  or;  commas  required.) 

A  particular  phrase  at  the  beginning  of  a  sentence  is 
usually  set  off  by  a  comma.  Thus :  “Shouting  a  warning, 


STYLE  BOOK 


297 


he  ran  down  the  street.” — “Convinced  of  his  guilty,  the 
lawyer  declined  to  defend  him.” 

Co-ordinate  adjectives,  as  in  “a  kind,  patient,  indulgent 
father,”  are  separated  by  commas.  Do  not  use  a  comma 
when  the  adjectives  are  not  co-ordinate,  but  dependent  each 
on  what  follows,  as  “a  handsome  young  man” ;  “our  excel¬ 
lent  financial  system” ;  “sturdy  old  patriots.”  The  commas 
are  correctly  placed  if,  as  a  test  we  can  imagine  each  re¬ 
placed  by  and  without  changing  the  meaning  of  the  sentence. 

A  common  mjstake  is  the  placing  of  a  comma  before 
every  bit  of  quoted  matter,  no  matter  what  its  character. 
No  comma  should  be  used  in  this  sentence:  “The  title 
of  the  book  is  ‘The  Way  to  Win.” 

Jr.,  Sr.,  Mo.,  etc.,  require  commas  on  each  side  unless 
they  end  a  sentence..  “John  Jones,  Sr.,  of  Cameron,  Mo., 
made  an  address.”  Each  of  these  forms  is  in  the  nature 
of  a  parenthesis  and  is  therefore  set  off  by  commas  from 
the  rest  of  the  sentence.  One  of  the  commonest  errors 
in  punctuation  is  the  omission  of  the  comma  after  a  paren¬ 
thetical  expression. 

Use  commas  to  set  off  the  year  in  a  date,  as  “The  men 
who  enlisted  in  April,  1917,  were  wholly  untrained,  but 
on  November  11,  1918,  they  were  veterans.” 

Use  a  comma,  not  a  colon,  after  viz.,  to  wit,  namely,  etc., 
except  in  ending  a  paragraph. 

Use  no  comma  after  such  as.  “Farm  products,  such  as 
wheat,  rye,  corn  and  oats,  were  exhibited.” 

Use  no  comma  in  “5  feet  8  inches  tall,”  “3  years  6  months 
old,”  etc. 

Use  a  comma  after  whereas,  resolved,  etc.,  and  follow 
with  a  lower-case  letter.  “Resolved,  that  we,  the  members 
of  .  .  ” 


298 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


For  examples  of  misuse  of  the  comma,  see  “Four  Illiterate 
Blunders,”  at  the  end  of  this  section. 

The  Semicoln. 

Don’t  taboo  the  semicolon.  It  is  less  used  now  than  formerly, 
when  long  and  involved  sentences  were  more  common,  but  it  still 
has  a  legitimate  function.  Study  the  use  of  the  semicolon  in  any 
book  from  a  good  publishing  house.  See  “Four  Illiterate  Blunders,” 
at  the  end  of  this  section. 

Use  the  semicoln  to  separate  co-ordinate  clauses  of  the 
same  sentence  when  they  are  not  separated  by  a  co-ordinate 
conjunction;  thus:  “‘This  is  a  bad  law;  it  should  be  re¬ 
pealed.”  When  the  connection  between  the  two  clauses 
is  not  of  the  most  intimate  sort  it  is  usually  better  to 
make  them  separate  sentences. 

Use  the  semicolon  to  separate  members  of  a  series  when 
the  members  themselves,  or  some  of  them,  are  broken  up 
by  commas.  Thus :  “I  saw  the  Perry  Monument,  which 
overlooks  Lake  Erie,  where  Perry  won  his  greatest  fame; 
the  municipal  bathing  pavilion,  which  frequently  accom¬ 
modates  more  than  ten  thousand  persons  in  a  day ;  and  the 
lagoon,  where  motor  boats  by  the  score  are  moored.”  (But : 
“I  saw  the  Perry  Monument,  the  municipal  bathing  pavilion 
and  the  lagoon.”) 

Use  the  semicolon  in  a  construction  such  as  this :  “Those 
present  were:  John  Jones,  Mexico,  Mo;  Horace  Brown, 
Sedalia;  Mrs.  W.  B.  Smith  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Howard,  St. 
Louis;  Dr.  B.  B.  Simmons,  Moberly;  H.  K.  Henry,  Co¬ 
lumbia.”  (But  if  there  were  not  more  than  three  on  the 
list:  “Those  present  were  John  Jones,  of  Mexico,  Mo., 
Horace  Brown  of  Sedalia  and  Dr.  B.  B.  Simmons  of  Mo¬ 
berly.  ) 

Use  the  semicolon  to  avoid  confusion  in  such  a  construc¬ 
tion  as  this :  “The  party  consisted  of  J.  J.  Lee ;  H.  H. 


STYLE  BOOK 


299 


Winton,  his  secretary;  Mrs.  Lee;  Miss  Mary  Brown,  her 
nurse;  and  three  servants.”  Written  thus,  the  sentence 
indicates  there  were  seven  persons  in  the  party.  Readers 
might  get  the  impression  there  were  nine  if  the  sen¬ 
tence  were  written:  “J  J.  Lee,  H.  H.  Winton,  his  secre¬ 
tory,  Mrs.  Lee,  Miss  Mary  Brown,  her  nurse  and  three 
servants.” 


The  Colon. 

Use  a  colon  (1)  before  a  quotation  of  more  than  one 
sentence;  (2)  before  a  quotation  of  only  one  sentence 
when  an  unusual  degree  of  formality  is  sought;  (3)  before 
any  quoted  matter  that  begins  a  new  paragraph.  In  general, 
use  the  comma  before  a  quotation  of  one  sentence.  “I  re¬ 
plied,  ‘No ;  we  can’t  do  that.’  ” 

Use  a  colon  between  chapter  and  verse  in  scriptural  ref¬ 
erences;  thus,  Matthew  2:5-13. 

Use  the  colon  in  giving  time,  as  7 :30  o’clock. 

In  general,  use  the  colon  in  introducing  matter  with  the 
following,  as  follows  and  similar  expressions. 

The  Apostrophe. 

Use  the  apostrophe  as  follows  to  form  the  possessive  case 
of  nouns :  Add  apostrophe  and  s  in  the  singular,  as  the 
girl’s  hat.  And  apostrophe  in  the  plural  when  the  plural 
ends  in  s,  as  girls’  hats.  Add  apostrophe  and  ^  when  the 
plural  is  formed  without  the  s,  as  children’s  games,  women’s 
rights.  Add  apostrophe  to  proper  names  ending  in  s>  as 
James’  hat,  Burns’  poems,  Rogers’  dry  goods  store.  Be 
sure  to  place  the  apostrophe  correctly.  Burn's  poems  would 
indicate  that  the  name  was  Burn;  Roger's,  that  the  name 
was  Roger. 


300 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Observe  use  of  the  apostrophe  in  don’t ,  doesn’t,  haven’t, 
I’vei  ’ tis ,  can’t  etc.  The  apostrophe  takes  the  place  of  the 
elided  letter  or  letters.  The  plural  of  don’t  is  don’ts. 

The  apostrophe  is  never  used  in  the  possessive  pro¬ 
nouns,  his,  hers,  its,  yours,  etc.  It’s  means  it  is. 

The  possessive  of  M.  U.  is  M.  U’s. 

Use  the  apostrophe  in  forming  the  plural  of  letters,  as 
the  three  R’s,  the  i’s  in  a  font  of  type.  Do  not  use  the 
apostrophe  with  figures  as  5s  and  3%s  (as  in  referring  to 
bonds  bearing  5  per  cent  or  3%  per  cent  interest). 

Use  no  apostrophe  with  Frisco,  bus,  phone,  varsity. 

The  Dash. 

Don’t  overwork  the  dash.  Usually  the  comma  will  do 
as  well.  A  frequent  legitimate  use  of  the  dash  is  to  de¬ 
note  an  abrupt  break  in  the  construction.  Thus :  “He 
thought  of  his  mother — what  a  woman  she  was !” 

Dashes  are  sometimes  used  for  the  sake  of  emphasis  to 
set  off  parenthetical  words.  “Dinner — for  they  dined  in  the 
evening  now — made  a  welcome  diversion.” 

The  dash  may  be  used  for  a  significant  pause.  “I  asked 
for  bread  and  they  gave  me — fried  chicken.” 

Use  a  dash  in  unfinished  sentences.  Put  quotation  marks, 
if  any,  outside  the  dash.  Thus :  “Then  your  name  is — ” 

The  Parenthesis. 

Do  not  be  confused  by  marks  of  parenthesis.  Punctuate 
the  sentence  as  if  the  portion  within  parentheses  did  not 
exist.  If  any  mark  is  required  after  the  portion  of  the 
sentence  preceding  the  parenthesis,  put  it  after  the  second 
curve.  Punctuate  the  parenthetical  matter  separately. 
Thus:  “The  celebrated  'Chaldee  Manuscript’  was  the  piece 


STYLE  BOOK 


301 


de  resistance — a  satire,  couched  in  biblical  language  (prob¬ 
ably  at  the  suggestion  of  James  Hogg,  the  ‘Ettrick  Shep¬ 
herd,’  who  was  admitted  to  the  council  of  conspirators), 
directed  chiefly  against  the  former  editors  of  the  maga¬ 
zine.” — Henry  Mills  Alden. 

If  an  entire  sentence  is  inclosed  in  parentheses,  the  period 
should  come  before  the  last  curve.  Thus:  “(For  additional 
data  see  Page  17.)”  If  only  the  last  words  are  inclosed, 
the  period  should  come  after  the  curve.  Thus :  “He  uses 
many  words  wrongly  (for  example,  practical  and  practi¬ 
cable) ” 

When  the  name  of  the  state,  though  not  a  part  of  the 
title  of  a  newspaper,  is  given  with  the  title,  use  this 
form:  the  Sturgeon  (Mo.)  Leader,  the  Las  Vegas  (N.  M.) 
Optic.  Omit  name  of  state  after  large  cities,  as  the  Chicago 
Daily  News,  the  New  York  World,  the  San  Francisco 
Examiner, 


Brackets. 

Bracket’s  are  correctly  used  to  indicate  an  interpolation 
made  in  a  quotation  by  the  person  quoting.  “They  [the 
framers  of  the  Constitution]  were  much  like  other  men.” 
The  news  writer  rarely  has  occasion  for  these  marks. 

Quotation  Marks. 

The  period  and  the  comma  always  stand  inside  quotation 
marks  as  a  matter  of  typography.  Thus :  “On  this  plat¬ 
form,”  he  said,  “I  expect  to  win.” — She  was  reading  “Ivan- 
hoe.” 

The  colon  and  the  semicolon  should  be  placed  outside 
quotation  marks.  Thus :  He  spoke  as  follows  on  the  sub¬ 
ject,  “See  America  First”: — The  books  were  studied  in 


302 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


this  order:  first,  ‘‘Silas  Marner”;  second,  “David  Copper- 
field”  ;  third,  “Henry  Esmond.” 

The  interrogation  and  exclamation  points  are  placed  in¬ 
side  quotation  marks  if  they  are  part  of  the  quotation ; 
otherwise,  outside.  Thus :  “Who  goes  there  ?”  he  chal¬ 
lenged. — Have  you  ever  seen  Maude  Adams  in  “Peter 
Pan”? — “Well  done!”  he  cried. — He  called  himself  an  epi¬ 
cure,  but  I  noticed  that  he  ordered  “ham-and” ! 

(See  also  “Quotation.”) 

Four  Illiterate  Blunders. 

(From  “Principles  of  Modern  Punctuation,”  by  Dr.  Robert  L. 
Ramsay  of  the  English  department  of  the  University  of  Missouri; 
published  by  the  School  of  Journalism,  1908.) 

The  mistakes  most  to  be  avoided  are  those  that  brand  the 
user  as  illiterate  or  slovenly.  Of  these  there  are  four 
that  give  to  one’s  writing  an  especially  crude  and  careless 
air. 

1.  The  “false  period.”  This  consists  of  putting  a  period 
after  a  group  of  words  that  do  not  make  complete  sense, 
after  a  phrase  or  subordinate  clause  instead  of  a  sentence. 
It  is  the  worst  of  all  blunders  in  punctuation,  because  it 
indicates  that  the  writer  does  not  understand  the  most 
elementary  of  grammatical  problems,  how  to  tell  a  sentence 
when  he  sees  one.  The  following  examples  are  taken  from 
students’  themes : 

Examples :  “Milton  wrote  many  poems  in  his  youth.  The 
best  known  being  ‘Lycidas’  and  ‘comus.’  ” — “The  stranger 
blamed  himself  severely.  Which  was  not  doing  himself 
justice.” — “He  was  very  lenient  about  people’s  not  being 
on  time.  Principally  because  he  was  always  late  himself.” 

2.  The  “false  comma.”  This  blunder  is  the  converse  of 
the  first,  and  nearly  as  bad.  The  “false  period”  occurs 


STYLE  BOOK 


303 


when  part  of  a  sentence  is  v/ritten  as  if  it  were  a  whole 
sentence;  the  “false  comma,”  when  two  complete  sentences 
are  written  as  one,  with  only  a  comma  between  them.  Two 
complete  thoughts  do  not  belong  in  the  same  sentence  un¬ 
less  their  independence  is  recognized  in  the  link  between 
them.  This  link  may  be  one  of  the  pure  co-ordinate  con¬ 
junctions  {and,  but,  or,  nor ,  sometimes  for  and  yet)  or  the 
semicolon.  With  other  connectives,  such  as  therefore,  never¬ 
theless,  still,  moreover,  however,  the  comma  alone  is  not 
sufficient ;  the  semicolon  is  the  distinctive  mark  for  independ¬ 
ent  clauses.  In  the  example  given  below,  either  period  or 
semicolon  might  be  used,  but  the  comma  is  wrong: 

Examples :  “Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  was  a  good  church¬ 
man,  he  attended  church  every  Sunday. — “The  night  was 
cool,  we  rode  swiftly  along  the  silent  road.” — “We  all 
walked  rapidly,  the  sun  had  gone  down,  there  were  no 
horses.” 

3.  The  “unbalanced  comma.”  In  all  cases  where  a  word, 
phrase  or  clause  is  cut  off  by  commas — a  transposed  ele¬ 
ment,  a  nonrestrictive  phrase  or  clause,  a  parenthetic  ele¬ 
ment  of  any  kind, — it  produces  a  particularly  bad  effect  to 
use  one  of  the  two  commas  and  omit  the  other.  It  is  better 
to  omit  both  than  to  do  this. 

Examples :  “These  men  in  their  honorary  capacity,  al¬ 
ready  have  sufficient  work  to  perform.” — “The  party  then, 
consisted  of  about  twelve  persons.” — “It  is  not  strange  that 
the  sentiment  of  loyalty  should,  from  the  day  of  his  accession 
have  begun  to  revive.” — “It  was  the  master  of  the  house  to 
whom,  as  in  duty  bound  I  communicated  my  intention.” 

4.  The  “exaggerated  semicolon.”  Just  as  it  looks  il¬ 
literate  to  put  a  comma  before  an  independent  clause,  so 
it  looks  illiterate,  though  not  so  much  so,  to  put  a  semicoin 
before  a  subordinate  clause;  not  so  much  so,  because 


304 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


.  this  is  sometimes  done  in  the  series,  and  sometimes 
for  rhetorical  effect.  But  it  is  very  liable  to  abuse,  and 
most  cases  of  it  are  due  to  ignorance.  The  safest  rule  is 
never  to  use  the  semicolon  except  between  independent 
clauses. 

Examples :  “The  stranger  blamed  himself  severely ;  which 
was  not  doing  himself  justice.” — “Milton  wrote  many  poems 
in  his  youth ;  the  best-known  being  ‘Lyndas’  and  ‘Comus’  ” — 
“When  ambition  asserts  the  monstrous  doctrine  of  millions 
made  for  individuals,  their  playthings,  to  be  demolished  at 
their  caprice;  is  not  the  good  man  indignant?” 


SPECIAL  FORMS 


FULL-MEASURE  BOX  SCORE 


(See  the  official  scoring  rules.) 

ST.  LOUIS  AB.  R.  H.  O.  A.  E. 

Shotton,  If.  _  4  0  0  5  0  0 

Heathcote,  rf.  _ 4  113  0  0 

Stock,  3b.  _ 4  12  110 

Hornsby,  2b. _  3  1  2  3  2  0 

Fournier,  lb. _  3  0  2  7  0  0 

McHenry,  cf. _ 3  0  110  0 

Janvrin,  ss.  _ 3  0  112  0 

Clemons,  c. _  3  0  0  5  2  0 

Schupp,  p. -  3  0  0  0  4  0 


Totals  _ 30  3  9f26  11  0 


PITTSBURGH  AB.  R.  H.  O.  A.  E. 


Bigbee,  If. _ 

Carey,  cf.  _ 

Southworth,  rf. 
Whitted,  3b. 

Cutshaw,  2b. _ 

Grimm,  lb.  _ 

Caton,  ss. _ 

Clarke,  c.  _ 

Cooper,  p. _ 

♦Nicholson  _ 

**Hinchman 


4  0  0  0  0  0 
2  0  2  1  0  1 
3  0  14  10 
3  10  2  10 

2  1114  0 

3  0  0  8  0  1 
3  0  2  1  1  0 
3  0  0  7  1  0 
3  0  0  0  1  0 
10  10  0  0 
1  0  0  0  0  0 


Totals  _ 28  2  7  24  9  2 

♦Batted  for  Clarke  in  ninth  inning. 
♦♦Batted  for  Cooper  in  ninth  inning. 
fCarey  out,  hit  by  batted  ball. 

305. 


306 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Score  by  innings : 

Pittsburgh  000  101  000 — 2 

St.  Louis  100  101  OOx — 3 

Summary :  Stolen  bases  —  South- 

worth  2,  Carey  2,  Stock.  Sacrifice  hits 
— Carey,  Caton,  Cutshaw.  Two-base 
hits  —  Hornsby,  McHenry,  Fournier. 
Double  play — Caton  to  Cutshaw  to 
Grimm.  Struck  out — By  Schupp  2,  by 
Cooper  4.  Bases  on  balls— Off  Schupp 
6.  Wild  pitches — Schupp  1,  Cooper  1. 
Left  on  bases — St.  Louis  3,  Pittsburgh  8. 
Time  —  1 :40.  Umpires  —  Klem  and 
Emslie. 


HALF-MEASURE  BOX  SCORE. 


ST. 

PAUL 

LOUISVILLE 

ab.h.o.a.e. 

AB.H.O.A.E. 

Niles,  3b 

2 

1 

4 

2 

0 

Daniels, rf 

5 

0 

3 

0 

0 

Martin,  ss 

6 

3 

4 

1 

0 

Osborn, cf 

1 

1 

4 

0 

0 

Padd’ckrlf 

6 

1 

4 

0 

0 

Moore, cf 

2 

0 

1 

0 

0 

Cruise, rf 

3 

0 

2 

1 

1 

St’nsb’y,2b  4 

2 

3 

1 

0 

Johnson, c 

6 

2 

3 

0 

0 

Crossin.c 

4 

1 

3 

1 

0 

Riggert, cf 

4 

2 

3 

0 

0 

Miller, lb 

4 

2 

8 

0 

2 

Dress’n,lb 

3 

1 

6 

0 

0 

Derrick, ss 

4 

0 

1 

6 

0 

0’Le’ry,2b 

4 

0 

1 

3 

0 

Midkiff,3b 

4 

1 

0 

0 

0 

Hall.p 

4 

3 

0 

1 

0 

Dell, If 

3 

1 

4 

0 

1 

Hoch,p 

0 

0 

0 

3 

0 

Totals 

38  13  27 

8 

1 

Ellis,  p 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Taylor, p 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

*Clemons 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Totals 

34 

8  27  11 

3 

*Batted  for  Taylor  in  ninth. 
Score  by  innings : 


St.  Paul  .  062  100  110—11 

Louisville  .  100  000  010—  2 


Summary :  Two  base  hits — Hall,  Riggert. 
Three-base  hit — Crossin.  Home  runs — Hall, 
Niles.  Stolen  bases — Cruise,  O’Leary.  Earned 
runs — Louisville  2,  St.  Paul  7.  Sacrifice  hits 
— Dressen  2,  Cruise,  O’Leary.  Left  on  bases 
— St.  Paul  12,  Louisville  8.  First  base  on  er¬ 
rors — St.  Paul  3.  Bases  on  balls — Off  Taylor 
6,  off  Hoch  2,  off  Hall  3.  Hits— Off  Hoch  2 
in  1  1-3  innings,  off  Ellis  3  (three  batters), 
off  Taylor  8  in  7  2-3  innings.  Struck  out — 
By  Taylor  3,  by  Hall  2.  Passed  ball — Crossin. 
Time — 2:05.  Umpires — Owens  and  Knapp. 


J 


30  7 


STYLE  BOOK 


SCORE  BY  INNING  ONLY. 

R  H  E 

New  Orleans  000  100  020 — 3  8  6 

Birmingham  000  000  000 — 0  5  3 

Batteries:  New  Orleans — Weaver  and  Hig¬ 
gins  ;  Birmingham — Robertson  and  Hall. 


INNING-BY-INNING  BASEBALL  STORY 
FIRST  INNING 

St.  Louis — Tobin  was  out,  Blair  to  Chase.  Vaughn  singled  to 
left  and  went  to  second  on  Miller’s  single  to  left.  Borton  singled  to 
center,  scoring  Vaughn,  Miller  taking  second.  A  pass  to  Kores  filled 
the  bases.  Chapman  popped  to  Roach.  Drake  was  out,  Bedicnt  to 
Chase.  One  run,  three  hits,  no  errors. 

Buffalo — Meyer  beat  out  a  grounder  to  second.  Lord  forced 
Meyer,  Kores  to  Johnson.  Dalton  lined  to  Tobin.  Lord  stole  sec¬ 
ond.  Chase  fanned  No  runs,  one  hit,  no  errors. 


FOOTBALL  SCORE 

MISSOURI  (0)  AMES  (6) 

Speelman,  le  .  re,  Jones 

Herndon,  It  .  rt,  Reeve  (capt.) 

Groves,  lg  .  rg,  Deffke 

Lansing,  c  .  c,  Johns 

Van  Dyne,  rg  .  lg,  McKinley 

Clay  (capt.),  rt  .  It,  Mattison 

La  Rue,  re . >  . . .  le,  Packer 

Collins,  qb  .  qb,  Moss 

Shepard,  lhb  .  rhb,  Wilson 

Dunckel,  fb  .  fb,  Uhl 

Graves,  rhb . lhb,  McDonnell 

Substitutions  :  Missouri — Drumm  for  Groves, 
Graham  for  Lansing,  Lake  for  Shepard,  Woody 
for  Lake,  Miller  for  Dunckel.  Ames — Karr 
for  McKinley,  Evans  for  Wilson. 

Touchdown — Uhl  (Ames). 

Referee — Groves  (Washington  U.).  Umpire 
— Quigley  (St.  Mary’s).  Head  linesman — 
Thomas  (Purdue). 


BASKETBALL  SCORE 


MISSOURI  (43) 

Goals 

Free 

Throws 

Ruby,  rf 

4 

0 

Scott,  If 

4 

7 

Vogt,  c 

8 

0 

Schroeder,  rg 

2 

0 

Browning,  lg 

0 

0 

Coffey,  lg 

0 

0 

Fouls 

2 

6 

3 

1 

0 

1 


Totals 


18 


7 


13 


308 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


KANSAS  (25) 

Goals 

Free 

Throws 

Fouls 

Bunn,  If 

3 

0 

3 

Lonberg,  rf 

1 

0 

0 

Matthews,  c 

1 

1 

3 

Frederick,  c 

3 

0 

1 

Mason,  lg 

1 

0 

2 

Bennett,  rg 

0 

4 

2 

Harms,  rg 

1 

0 

1 

— 

— 

— 

Totals 

10 

5 

12 

TRACK  SUMMARY 

100-yard  dash — Smith,  Missouri,  first;  Shaw,  Kansas,  second. 
Time,  10  1-5  seconds. 

440-yard  dash — Wilson,  Kansas,  first;  Jones,  Missouri  second. 
Time,  52  seconds. 

Two-mile  run — Ames,  Kansas,  first;  Brown,  Missouri,  second. 
Time,  10  minutes  14-5  seconds. 

High  jump — Frank,  Missouri,  first;  Williams,  Missouri,  second. 
Height,  5  feet  11  inches. 


MUSIC  PROGRAM 

Overture,  “William  Tell” -  Rossini 

Selection,  “Tannhaeuser” _  Wagner 

Baliet  Music,  “Faust” _ Gounod 

Entr’acte,  “Fleurette” _ Herbert 

Selections  _  MacDowell 

a.  “To  a  Wild  Rose.” 

b.  “At  an  Old  Trysting  Place.” 

“Peer  Gynt”  Suite  -  Grieg 

“La  Lisonjera” _ — _ Chaminade 

Excerpts,  “Cavallerh  Rusticana”  _  Mascagni 

“Csardas”  _  Delibes 


If  the  program  is  not  all  by  the  same  musician  or  group  of 
musicians,  the  name  of  the  individual  or  organization  is 
centered  in  a  separate  line  following  the  name  of  the  com¬ 
position  given. 


STYLE  BOOK 


309 


DATELINES 

Observe  capitalization  and  punctuation  in  the  following: 
Chicago,  June  30. — Mayor  Thompson  announced  today  that  he 
Centralia,  Mo.,  June  30. — An  attempt  to  rob  the  First  National 
Berein,  Aug.  1  (via  wireless  to  Sayville). — The  German  war  will 
Petrograd,  May  27  (by  mail). — The  next  serious  blow  of  the 
Paris,  Aug.  3  (8:10  p.  m.). — Fighting  on  the  western  front  has 
Nish,  Serbia,  Jan.  4. — The  possibility  of  a  Balkan  agreement  in 
The  rules:  Name  of  city  in  caps  and  small  caps;  state  or 
country,  lower-case.  Omit  state  or  country  after  large 
city  whose  location  is  well  known.  Abbreviate  names  of 
states  in  datelines,  but  not  names  of  foreign  countries. 
Abbreviate  names  of  month  in  datelines  as  follows :  Jan., 
Feb.,  Aug.  Sept.,  Oct.,  Nov.,  Dec.  Do  not  abbreviate  March, 
April,  May,  June,  July.  Use  period  and  dash  after  date. 
Parenthetical  matter  goes  after  date,  before  period  and  dash. 
Use  lower-case  in  parentheses  except  for  proper  names,  as 
“by  mail,”  “via  wireless,”  etc.  For  abbreviations  of  names 
of  states  see  “Abbreviation,”  Page  22. 

SIGNED  STORIES 

Signatures  over  stories  are  set  in  caps  and  small  caps. 
Parenthetical  matter,  if  any,  goes  in  italics  in  second  line. 
Both  lines  are  centered,  thus: 

By  Alice  Rohe 
{United  Press  Staff  Correspondent ) 

INTRODUCTIONS 

Editorial  notes  or  other  introductory  matter,  not  a  part  of 
the  story  should  be  set  in  italics  without  parentheses  or  in¬ 
dention,  and,  unless  unusually  long,  all  in  one  paragraph. 
A  3-em  dash  goes  between  the  introduction  and  the  story. 


310 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


COMMUNICATIONS 

Editor  the  Missourian :  is  the  only  form  of  salutation 
permitted  on  communications.  This  is  run  in  as  part  of  the 
first  paragraph.  A  noncommittal  headline  (Missourian  No. 
6)  is  used. 

The  signature  is  set  in  caps  and  small  caps,  one  em  in  from 
the  right,  without  dash.  Set  in  last  line  of  text  if  there 
is  room;  otherwise  make  a  separate  line. 

Dateline,  if  any,  is  set  at  the  end  in  lower-case,  one  em 
in  from  the  left.  Thus : 

The  Government’s  Budget. 

Editor  the  Missourian :  A  news  dis¬ 
patch  sent  out  from  Washington  Fri¬ 
day  .  .  .  result.  A.  B.  Cady 

Kansas  City,  May  18. 

REPRINT 

Short  reprint  (paragraphs  and  “answer-backs”)  is  credited 
with  name  of  publication,  lower-case,  run  in  at  the  end, 
following  an  em  dash.  Omit  the  from  titles  of  newspapers 
in  giving  credit  in  this  form;  thus, — St.  Louis  Post-Dis¬ 
patch, — Kansas  City  Journal,  etc.  If  name  of  state  is 
given,  but  does  not  appear  as  part  of  the  newspaper  title, 
put  in  parentheses,  as  Parkville  (Mo.)  Gazette. 

Long  reprint  is  credited  with  full  name  of  publication, 
set  in  italics,  flush,  at  top  of  article.  Use  “from”  in  this 
form,  thus : 

From  the  New  York  Times. 

BOOK  REVIEWS 

Use  the  title  of  the  book,  quoted,  as  the  headline  (Mis¬ 
sourian  No.  6  head),  thus: 


STYLE  BOOK 


311 


“The  Hoad  to  Yesterday.* * 

Name  publisher  and  describe  book  in  a  separate  final 
paragraph, thus : 

(Charles  Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York;  cloth,  illustrated 
with  photographs,  204  pages;  $1.75  net.) 


PHOTO-ENGRAVING 


The  most  commonly  used  picture-printing  plates  are 
halftones  and  line  etchings. 

A  halftone  is  a  plate  reproducing  a  photograph,  drawing 
or  piece  of  copy  that  contains  one  or  more  tones  between 
white  and  black.  A  line  etching,  on  the  other  hand,  can 
reproduce  only  copy  that  show  white  and  black.. 

Distinctive  of  the  halftone  are  the  raised  dots  on  its  sur¬ 
face  by  which  the  tones  of  the  original  copy  are  interpreted. 
These  are  obtained  by  photographing  the  copy  through  a 
screen — a  glass  that  has  engraved  or  imprinted  black  lines 
upon  it,  two  sets  of  parallel  lines  crossing  at  right  angles.  A 
great  number  of  small  squares  compose  the  pattern  of  the 
screen.  The  dotted  image  obtained  thus  by  photograph  on 
glass  is  transferred  to  a  sheet  of  sensitized  metal,  either 
copper  or  zinc,  by  a  photographic  process.  Etching  in  acid 
leaves  certain  dots  of  metal  standing  in  relief.  These  form 
the  printing  surface  of  the  plate. 

Halftone  screens  are  classified  according  to  the  number 
of  lines  to  the  running  inch  ruled  upon  them.  Fine  screens, 
from  120  lines  higher,  are  used  for  halftones  that  are  to 
be  printed  on  the  better  grades  of  paper.  Newspapers 
generally  use  a  60  or  85-line  screen. 

A  line  etching  is  produced  on  zinc  without  the  use  of 
the  halftone  screen.  It  is  less  expensive  than  the  halftone. 
Pen  drawings  form  the  bulk  of  line  copy. 

Other  picture  printing  plates  used  in  the  Missourian  are 
electrotypes,  stereotypes  and  occasionally  wood  cuts. 

Electrotypes  (or  electros)  are  duplicates  of  original  line 
and  halftone  plates.  A  whole  advertisement,  including  type 

312 


STYLE  BOOK 


313 


and  illustration,  can  be  duplicated  in  one  plate  by  electro¬ 
types*  The  process  offers  a  distinct  advantage  to  an 
advertiser  who  wishes  to  run  the  same  advertisement 
simultaneously  in  several  publications.  A  wax  impression  of 
the  original  etching  or  type  is  placed  in  an  electrolytic  bath, 
where  it  receives  a  deposit  of  copper.  This  thin  facing  of 
copper  is  then  backed  up  with  lead  and  mounted  on  wood  to 
form  a  printing  plate. 

Stereotypes  are  plates  made  by  casting  metal  on  matrices 
(singular,  matrix). 

Wood  cuts  are  made  by  hand-chiseling  on  type-high, 
cross-sectioned,  polished  blocks  of  wood.  The  lines  that  are 
to  be  printed  are  left  standing  in  relief.  This  is  the  earliest 
form  of  picture  printing.  Its  present-day  survival  is  almost 
solely  in  commercial  illustration. 

HOW  TO  ORDER  ENGRAVINGS 
Halftones 

Paste  a  strip  of  paper  on  the  upper  or  lower  edge  of 
photograph  to  be  repoduced.  Upon  it  write : 

(a)  Desired  width  of  the  plate  in  inches.  (Indicate  specifically 
with  arrow  lines  the  outermost  points  to  be  included.) 

(b)  Kind  of  screen  to  be  used. 

(c)  Kind  of  finish — square,  outline,  vignette  or  oval. 

(d)  Indicate  if  special  work  on  photo  or  plate  is  desired — “re¬ 
touching”  of  photo;  mortising  or  “tooling-out”  on  plate;  special 
border  design. 

(e)  Name  and  address  of  sender. 

(f)  Specific  time  for  return  of  plate. 

Mail  with  flat  cardboard  covering. 

Explanation  of  terms  used  above: 

Square  halftone — one  whose  outer  edges  comprise  a  rectangle. 
Outline  halftone — one  with  the  background  removed. 


314 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Vignette  halftone— one  with  the  background  shading  away  into 
nothing. 

Oval  halftone— one  whose  outer  edges  form  an  oval. 

Retouching — brush  work  done  by  an  artist  on  original  photo  copy. 

Mortise— to  cut  out  portions  of  a  plate  for  insertion  of  type. 

Tooling-out— hand-chiseling  on  plate  to  lighten  the  tone  or  to 
produce  a  white  space. 

Special  border  design — any  decorative  surrounding  of  a  picture 
other  than  straight  lines. 

Line  Etchings 

Leave  sufficient  margin  around  drawing.  If  copy  is  a 
page  of  printed  matter,  or  clippings,  mount  it  on  white 
cardboard.  Touch  with  black  (india)  ink  any  gray  spots 
on  letters.  Mark  on  lower  margin: 

(a)  Desired  width  of  plate  in  inches.  (Indicate  outermosts 
points  with  horizontal  arrows.) 

(b)  Whether  special  work  is  desired  (mortising,  etc.). 

(c)  Name  and  address  of  sender  (may  be  written  on  back  of 
copy). 

(d)  Time  for  return  of  etching. 

In  ordering  etchings  it  is  well  to  inclose  in  a  separate 
envelope  a  general  statement  covering  work  desired,  especial¬ 
ly  if  there  should  be  any  detail  in  doubt,  which  may  be  left 
to  the  judgment  of  the  engraver. 

HOW  TO  FIGURE  REDUCTIONS 

If  the  original  copy  is  8  by  12  inches  and  the  width  in 
the  reduction  is  to  be  2  inches,  the  other  factor  may  be 
calculated  mathematically:  8:12::2:?  The  missing  factor 
will  be  found  to  be  3. 

Where  the  dimensions  of  drawing  or  copy  are  already  laid 
out  and  one  reduction  factor  is  known,  the  other  reduction 
factor  is  obtained  as  follows:  On  the  base  line  of  the 


STYLE  BOOK 


315 


drawing,  mark  off  from  one  corner  the  known  reduction 
factor  (for  example,  the  width  of  the  plate  to  be  made). 
Then  erect  a  perpendicular  of  indefinite  length.  The  point 
of  intersection  of  this  line  with  the  diagonal  of  the  rectangle 
that  incloses  the  original  drawing  will  determine  the  height 
of  the  plate  to  be  made.  Thus,  in  the  accompanying  figure, 
AB  is  the  width  of  plate  to  be  made. 

AX  is  a  diagonal  of  original  drawing 
AEXF.  BC  is  perpendicular  erected 
on  AF.  BC  is  the  desired  factor,  the 
height  of  plate  to  be  made. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  dimensions 
of  the  plate  to  be  made  are  known  in  advance,  the  scale  of 
the  drawing  must  be  calculated  accordingly.  The  scale  of 
the  drawing  is  planned  thus : 

ABCD  represents  the  desired  size  of 
plate.  Extent  indefinitely  AB  and  BC. 
Extend  diagonal  BD  indefinitely.  Up¬ 
on  one  of  the  two  extended  lines  (BC. 
for  example)  lay  out  a  width  BX. 
Erect  the  perpendicular  XY  to  inter¬ 
sect  the  extended  diagonal  BD.  XY  then  represents  the 
height  that  must  be  given  to  the  drawing. 

DON’TS 

Don’t  leave  pencil  marks  or  dirty  smudges  on  line  copy. 

Don’t  fail  to  send  as  good  photographs  to  the  engraver 
as  you  can  get.  A  good  photograph  obviates  much  ex¬ 
pensive  retouching. 

Don’t  mark  every  order  “Rush.”  Good  photo-engraving 
work  demands  time. 


316 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


Don’t  mark  a  reduction  in  two  dimensions ;  e.  g.,  “Reduce 
to  5  by  7  inches.”  The  engraver  has  control  over  only  one 
dimension. 

Don’t  order  several  cuts  of  the  same  size  from  the  same 
copy  without  considering  the  possibility  of  electrotyping. 

Don’t  make  drawings  for  line  reproduction  on  other 
than  white  paper  with  glossy  black  ink  (india). 

Don’t  use  fine,  “scratchy”  lines  in  a  pen  drawing  that 
is  made  for  line  reproduction.  Fine  lines  that  are  firm 
may  be  reproduced  if  not  too  close  together. 


THE  POINT  SYSTEM 


The  basis  of  the  modern  American  sys/tem  of  type 
measurement  is  the  point,  which  is  1-72  of  an  inch.  Only 
the  height  of  the  type  is  measured  in  this  way,  the  width 
of  the  letters  varying.  When  type  is  said  to  be  10-point, 
what  is  meant  is  that  the  body  of  the  type  is  10  points 
high.  The  face  of  the  printed  letter  is  somewhat  less, 
the  difference  being  in  the  “shoulder” — the  blank  part  of 
the  type  that  makes  white  space  between  lines.  Before  the 
measurement  of  type  was  standardized  by  the  adoption  of 
the  point  system,  the  different  type  sizes  were  named,  as 
agate,  nonpareil,  etc.  These  names  are  still  used  to  some 
extent  and  the  student  should  be  familiar  with  them,  or  at 
least  with  the  names  of  the  s»zes  up  to  12  points. 

An  em  is  the  square  of  any  given  type  body.  That  is, 
a  10-point  em  is  an  area  10  points  both  in  height  and 
width.  The  pica,  or  12-point,  em  is  a  standard  printer’s 
measurement. 


Below  is  a  list  of  the  various  type  sizes,  with  their  names : 


3V2  point, 

Brilliant 

14 

point,  2-line 

Minion 

4% 

point 

,  Diamond 

or  English 

5 

point, 

Pearl 

15 

point,  3-line 

Pearl 

5% 

point, 

Agate 

16 

point,  2-line  Brevier 

6 

point, 

Nonpariel 

18 

point,  Great 

Primer 

7 

point, 

Minion 

20 

point,  2-line 

Long  Primer 

8 

point, 

Brevier 

or  Paragon 

9 

point, 

Bourgeois 

22 

point,  2-line 

Small  Pica 

10 

point, 

Long  Primer 

24 

point,  2-line 

Pica 

11 

point, 

Small  Pica 

28 

point,  2-line 

English 

12 

point, 

Pica 

30 

point,  5-line 

Nonpareil 

317 

318  THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


32  point,  4-line  Brevier 
36  point,  2-line  Great  Primer 
40  point,  Double  Paragon 
42  point,  7-line  Nonpareil 
44  point,  4-line  Small  Pica 


48  point,  4-line  Pica  or  Canon 
54  point,  9-line  Nonpareil 
60  points,  5-line  Pica 
72  point,  6-line  Pica 


HEADLINES 

The  sample  headlines  given  here  represent  the  size  and  style  of 
those  used  by  the  Columbia  Evening  Missourian,  the  laboratory 
product  of  the  School  of  Journalism  of  the  University  of  Missouri. 
They  are  reproduced  to  show  the  space  limitations  copy  readers 
must  meet,  depending  of  course,  on  the  size  and  style  of  headlines  an 
individual  newspaper  uses. 

Count  one  unit  for  each  character  or  space,  with  these  exceptions : 
Count  one  and  one-half  for  M,  W,  or  a  dash;  count  one-half  for  I, 
figure  1,  period,  comma,  colon,  semicolon,  exclamation  mark,  apos¬ 
trophe  or  single  quotation  mark;  if  a  period  or  comma  is  followed 
immediately  by  a  space  as  in  initials,  count  the  punctuation  mark 
and  the  space  together  as  one  unit. 

This  system  of  counting  may  have  to  be  modified  slightly  for  some 
fonts  of  type.  Counting  by  this  method  is  only  approximate  for 
decks  set  in  lowercase  type. 


NO,  1 


14  to 
16  units 
each  line 


HEADL 


MUST 
BE  MADE  SPECIFIC 


42  unitsl 
maximum 
38  max¬ 
imum 
38  max¬ 
imum 

20  to  38 


Strive  for  What  the  Newspaper  Man  Calls 
“Punch,”  But  Never  at  the  Expense  of 
Accuracy  and  Fairness — Make  No  State¬ 
ment  That  Is  Not  Borne  Out  by  the  Text. 


23  IfWERBS  GIVE  ADDITIONAL  FORCE 


Same  as 
in  second 
deck  (24 
to  27  or¬ 
dinary 
words) 


With  Practice,  Copy  Readers  May  Count  Pyr¬ 
amids  and  Hanging-  Indentions  by  Words, 
but  Beginners  Should  Count  the  Letters — 
Make  Sure  Your  Heads  Fit. 


(319) 


320 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


23  to  26 
units  in 
each  line 


no.  iy2 


POLICE  FIND  2  STILLS,  MASH 
AND  WHISKY  IN  FRUIT  STORE: 
PROPRIETOR  IS  HELD  FOR  U.  S. 


28  max¬ 
imum 
20  to  23 

14  to  18 
6  to  13 


18  to  2oy2 


Same  as 
in  second 
deck 
(13  to  15 
ordinary 
words) 


John  Doe  Is  Taken  to  the  City 
Jail  to  Await  Trial  at 
Hands  of  Federal 
Authorities. 


APPARATUS  COST  $1,500 


Machinery  Made  All  of  Copper 
and  Had  Capacity  of  Ap¬ 
proximately  Sixty 
Gallons  Daily. 


STYLE  BOOK 


321 


NO.  2 

CORN  CROP  IN 

10J4  to 
12)4  units 

MISSOURI  CAN 

in  each 
line 

BE  INCREASED 

28  max 
imum 

20  to  23 

14  to  18 

6  to  13 

Tests  at  Agricultural  Experi¬ 
ment  Station  Show  Effects 
of  the  Improved  Meth¬ 
ods  Used. 

13  to  20x/2 

WOULD  RAISE  PROFITS 

Same  as 
in  second 
deck  (13 
to  15 
ordinary 
words) 

Work  Here  Offers  Solution  for 
the  Rush  From  Farm  to 
City,  Says  Dean 
Mumford. 

NO.  3 

10 x/  to 
13  units 

ODD  FELLOWS 

in  each 
line 

TO  MEET  HERE 

28  max¬ 
imum 
16  to  22 

6  to  14 

Delegates  From  Boone  County 
Lodges  Will  Hold  Initia¬ 
tion  Tuesday. 

322 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


16  to  19 
units  in 
each  line 


21  to  24 

32  max¬ 
imum 
10  to  25 


32  max¬ 
imum 


12  to  20 
units  in 
each  line 


NO.  4 

EVERY  DOG  HAS  HIS 
DAY;  IT’S  OCTOBER  1 
FOR  COLUMBIA  PUPS 

NO.  5 

WOMEN  VOTERS  WILL  MEET 

Dean  Loeb  and  Miss  Myrtle  Wood 
Will  Speak. 

NO.  6 

Became  Ill  in  His  Car. 

NO.  7 

(used  principally  on  sport  stories) 

SECOND  SCRIMMAGE 
SHOWS  IMPROVEMENT 
The  second  football  scrimmage  of  the 
season  was  held  on  Rollins  Field  last 


STYLE  BOOK 


323 


NO.  8 


25  to  30 
units  in 
each  line 


Cold  Frames  Solve  Problem  of 

Transplanting  Indoor 


Plants 


EDITORIAL  HEAD 


24  max¬ 
imum 


ROADS  AS  AN  INVESTMENT 


SUBHEAD 


(at  least  two  in  a  story  or  none  at  all) 


12  to  28 
units 


prison  has  been  made  from  an  institution 
continually  in  debt  to  one  with  a  surplus 
at  the  end  of  the  year. 

$30,000,000  FOR  ROADS 
“Third,  we  have  aroused  interest  in 
road  building  and  now  have  at  our  dis- 


324 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  WRITING  HEADLINES 

Never  turn  in  a  head  that  you  guess  will  fit  the  space 
allotted  to  it.  Make  sure  it  will  fit.  Heads  that  are  written 
too  long  cause  delay  and  confusion. 

Remember  that  the  count  given  for  the  lower-case  decks 
of  heads  is  only  approximate.  The  capitals  which  begin  the 
important  words  are,  of  course,  wider  than  the  lower-case 
unit,  while  lower-case  t,  r,  l  and  f  are  narrower  than  the 
unit,  to  say  nothing  of  the  i,  which  is  only  counted  as  half 
a  unit  in  either  capitals  or  lower-case.  However,  the  lower¬ 
case  decks  are  not  rigid;  the  inverted  pyramids  may  be 
made  either  wide  or  narrow,  and  the  last  line  of  a  hanging 
indention  may  be  anything  from  a  half-line  to  a  full  line. 

Don’t  try  to  count  the  lower-case  decks  of  heads  by  words 
instead  of  units  until  you  have  had  considerable  experience. 
Make  allowances  if  the  decks  contain  many  short  words  or 
many  long  words. 

Heads  telling  of  a  recent  event  are  usually  put  in  the 
present  tense —  the  historical  present. 

Principal  words  should  not  be  repeated.  Strive  to  get  as 
many  ideas  into  the  head  as  possible.  Do  not  use  impossible 
synonyms,  however — such  as  “canine”  for  dog  or  “inn” 
for  a  modern  hotel. 

Make  every  deck  of  the  head  complete  in  itself.  Use 
a  verb,  or  verb  implied,  in  each  deck.  This  applies  especial¬ 
ly  to  stories  of  immediate  news  importance.  The  head  over 
a  future  story  may  be  more  like  a  book  title — suggestive  of 
the  story  rather  than  a  synopsis  of  it. 

Make  the  head  definite.  Don’t  generalize  or  draw  con¬ 
clusions,  but  tell  specifically  what  happened.  If  thirty 
persons  were  killed  in  a  wreck,  say  so;  don’t  write  “Hor¬ 
rible  Accident” 


STYLE  BOOK 


325 


Never  exaggerate.  Build  the  head  on  the  facts  in  the 
story.  If  a  statement  is  qualified  in  the  story,  qualify  it 
also  in  the  head. 

Most  papers  use  the  articles,  a,  an  and  the,  sparingly 
in  headlines  on  the  ground  that  the  head  should  tell 
as  much  of  the  story  as  possible  in  limited  space.  Use 
the  articles,  however,  when  they  are  needed  to  make  sense. 
Now  and  then  they  may  be  used  in  the  interest  of  sym¬ 
metry.  Rarely  should  any  deck  of  the  head  begin  with  an 
article. 

Seek  originality  and  shun  woodenness,  but  avoid  grotesque 
effects  and  keep  within  the  bounds  of  good  taste.  Flip¬ 
pancy  and  cheap  slang  are  forbidden.  Never  editoralize. 

Use  short,  simple  words,  but  avoid  such  overworked 
words  as  probe  and  rap. 

In  general,  put  the  main  feature  in  the  top  desk.  Make 
the  head  as  a  whole  a  smooth-reading,  accurate,  under¬ 
standable  synopsis  of  the  story. 

Never  divide  a  word  with  a  hyphen  from  one  line  to 
another  in  a  drop-line.  In  a  pyramid  or  hanging  indention, 
this  is  permissible. 

Avoid  ending  the  top  line  of  the  drop  with  a  preposition, 
an  article  or  a  conjunction,  as  in  the  following: 

TO  MAKE  PLANS  FOR 
AMERICAN  DEFENSE 

For  in  this  sentence  hangs  at  the  end  of  a  line,  separated 
from  the  words  with  which  it  forms  a  phrase.  The  idea  is 
to  make  each  line  of  such  a  deck,  as  nearly  as  space  limita¬ 
tions  w-'ll  permit,  consist  of  a  complete  statement  or  phrase. 
This  is  not  to  be  read  as  an  ironclad  rule. 


326 


THE  PRACTICE  OF  JOURNALISM 


The  rules  of  most  newspapers  call  for  subheads  in  stories 
that  run  half  a  column  or  more.  They  should  be  placed 
three  or  four  inches  apart.  Never  use  a  single  subhead. 

CAPITALIZATION  IN  HEADLINES 

1.  Capitalize  all  words  of  four  or  more  letters. 

2.  Capitalize  all  nouns,  pronouns,  verbs,  adverbs,  ad¬ 
jectives  and  interjections. 

3.  Capitalize  all  part  of  the  verbs,  as  Be,  Is,  Was,  May, 
Will  Be,  etc.  (But  lower-case  to  in  infinitive.) 

4.  Capitalize  both  part  of  compound  words. 

5.  Lower-case  in,  at,  on,  by,  for,  and,  bur,  or,  a,  the, 
etc.  (that  is,  all  prepositions,  conjunctions  and  articles  of 
less  than  four  letters)  except  when  beginning  sentence  or 
when  preposition  is  attached  to  or  compounded  with  verb, 
as:  “He  Was  Voted  For  by  His  Party.”— -“He  Was 
Started  At  by  the  Crowd.” — “The  Case  Was  Disposed  Of.” 
— “He  Was  Called  On  to  Speak.” 

6.  Capitalize  the  first  word  after  a  dash  or  semicolon  used 
to  indicate  a  change  in  thought. 

PUNCTUATION  IN  HEADLINES 

Follow  the  usual  rules  of  punctuation,  with  these  special 
rules : 

1.  No  period  after  a  line  set  in  caps. 

2.  Period  after  a  line  set  in  lower-case,  except  a  drop¬ 
line  or  a  single-line  box  head. 

3.  Use  the  dash  to  separate  distinct  ideas  in  the  same 
deck,  if  the  deck  is  a  pyramid  or  hanging  indention;  other¬ 
wise  use  the  semicolon.  Thus: 


STYLE  BOOK 


327 


DETECTIVE  SLAIN; 
SNOW  HIDES  BODY 


Two  Men  Arrested — Revenge  May 
Have  Been  Motive. 


/ 


MARKS  USED  IN  PROOF  READING 


S' 

Delete,  vase  out. 

stet 

Let  it  stand;  retain  crossed* 
out  word  or  letter. 

0 

Letter  reversed;  turn  It  oter. 

.  SUL. 
OVX-eopf 

See  copy  for  omitted  words. 

Insert  space. 

© 

Query  to  author?  Is  this  cor 
**ct? 

Close  up;  no  space. 

c&ps 

Put  in  capitals. 

Va 

Baa  spacing;  make  spacing 
even. 

5*  c. 

Put  in  small  capitals. 

t) V 

Transpose  words  or  letters. 

Z.  t. 

Put  in  lower-case. 

Si 

-lake  paragraph. 

runvtf, 

Pot  in  roman  type. 

tv©  Si 

No  paragraph,  run  In. 

ifc*Xrt 

Put  in  italic  type. 

□ 

Indent;  put  In  an  em-auad 
space.  • 

Put  in  boid-face  type. 

[ 

Move  to  the  left. 

/Vv^ 

Wrong  font;  change  to 

proper  style  of  type. 

& 

Apostrophe. 

3 

Move  £o  the  right. 

Quotation  marks. 

V 

i — » 

Raise  to  proper  position. 

U-J 

Lower  to  proper  position. 

o 

Period. 

X 

Imperfect  type;  change. 

> 

Comma. 

1 

Space  shows;  push  down. 

i~H 

One-em  dash. 

II 

Line  up;  make  the  margin 
straight. 

£*■/ 

Two-em  dash. 

Straighten  lines  or  type  out 
of  line. 

H 

Hyphen. 

(328) 


